April 27, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette:
Mark Twain warned that “anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” That feels less like wisdom and more like a daily headline.
At the Global Faith Forum held in Washington, D.C., in February 2026, the Rev. Roberts quoted Jesus Christ’s command to “love your enemies” and asked Marcus B. Nash what that looks like in practice. Elder Nash pointed to a line often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: when criticized for befriending his enemies, Lincoln replied, “When I make them my friends, am I not destroying my enemies?”
It’s a compelling idea — and completely out of step with how we tend to operate.
Even The Simpsons manages to capture the absurdity. In boot camp, Homer Simpson is told, “I don’t like you, and you don’t like me!” Homer replies, “I like you.” The instructor fires back, “Well, I don’t like you!” Homer shrugs: “Maybe you’d like me if you got to know me.” It’s a joke, but it lands because it’s recognizable. We’ve normalized hostility to the point that basic decency feels naïve.
This scripture is blunt but is needed and should be heeded: “Six things the Lord hates … a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community” (Proverbs 6:16–19, NIV).
We don’t have a disagreement problem. We have a contempt problem. And until we deal with that, no amount of being “right” is going to fix what’s broken. DOUG LARSEN Lexington
