I don’t believe in a general theory of evil. The vast majority of us have, in the past, felt a motivation to be kind and considerate to one another. A certain force makes many of us fear and ignore this instinct.

I cannot pretend to understand the nature of this change. I also don’t know how to prevent this developing trend from getting worse. The next four years will be difficult, even for many of those who voted for President-elect Trump. Being angry and isolating ourselves from those who disagree with us can only prolong this unpleasant period.

We all need to calmly and unemotionally engage in fact-based dialogue with those who disagree with us.

Many of those reading this are skilled in the art of successfully leading conversations with disagreeing opponents. Now is the time to activate this talent. Failing that, we abandon our opponents to the misinterpretations of Fox News and the biased conclusions, often based on emotion, of social and mainstream media.

David Scotton
Cape Elizabeth

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