Differing

The editor of the Detroit Free Press retired last week.  Ron Dzwonkowski will be missed.  Oh, I often disagreed with what he wrote.  But he was always reasoned in his arguments.  His columns/editorials were thoughtful, insightful, and sometimes humorous.  He was an editor who, even though most often held views different from mine, I looked forward to reading and who I respected.  Perhaps as much, whether I wrote to him in support or in opposition, he always replied.

I didn't know Dzwonk had retired when I heard Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in an interview.  Just coincidentally, he talked about a similar thing--differences and disagreeing.  His example was his colleague, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  He noted, as everyone must know, that he and Justice Bader Ginsburg have very different views.  Yet, he said, "We are good friends."  He acknowledged that they differed, often greatly.  (He also made a joke, saying there was one category of cases on which they always agreed--unanimous decisions!  I thought it was funny.)  But, he also stressed, each recognized that the other, in his/her own way, was working to try to make things better.  That, Justice Thomas clearly stated, is what it is all about--doing one's best to make things better.

Yes, we can differ.  After all, this is America.  I don't think it's the differences that bother me very much; it's the hypocrisy.  That's a very different matter.

No matter one's political persuasion, we all can learn a few lessons from Ron Dzwonkowski and Clarence Thomas.