In signing the Civil Rights Act in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson lamented that he was turning the South over to the Republican Party. He was correct. Thus Democratic and Republican caucuses became increasingly homogeneous in thought, and their members lost the ability to deal with people who thought differently than they did. President Harry S. Truman warned that if the parties ever became homogeneous in thought, the country would be in trouble. They have, and it is.
This inability to deal with people who think differently has infected not only those we elect to lead us but also those who do the electing. As a result, those who say they are pro-choice advocates, instead of being politely asked why, are called baby-killers, and those who say they are pro-life are labeled as being engaged in a war on women. The person who advocates for immigrants is accused of taking jobs from Americans, and the one who says we need to protect our borders is accused of being coldhearted. And so it goes.
At root, most of our problems are those of the heart. Such problems cannot be fixed by laws or by changing the Constitution. They can only be fixed by the people within whom those hearts beat. Much of the fault, fellow citizens, lies not in the Constitution, but in ourselves.
Philip Gallery, Augusta, W.Va.
