Fritschle letter: Lost respect

Now that the election is over, America needs to unite behind our new leader, whether we voted for him or not. Letters, or even comments, like the one recently published that begins, “This is an open letter to all you losers out there ...” are a sad indication that we’re all losers this time. No matter who we supported, or why, we’ve lost respect for others. We’ve lost any consideration for the feelings, ideas, problems, and values of others. That respect and consideration are the basis of democracy, and of civilization itself. Please, please don’t encourage this trend. Publish letters on every side of any issue. Publish disagreements and complaints and praise and thanks. But don’t publish name-calling, demeaning language. Help us heal.

This story was originally published November 20, 2016 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Fritschle letter: Lost respect."