To the editor:
We all have a vision of what a perfect world would be like. I have found over time that there is nothing that is perfect.
I worked in a production quality position. All presentations on any issue were presented in the concept of a six-sigma bell curve. In such a presentation, you can easily see the extremes and how the majority seem to lend itself.
Our society is torn today left and right. It has always questioned right or wrong and how to handle conflicting opinions. A good example is the two houses of Congress. That was a compromise between more heavily populated metropolitan states and less densely populated more rural states.
Conflict serves no purpose and has no value in a free country that prides itself in recognizing the rights of the individual.
We all know that individual that never seems satisfied. They must comment on everything never using a positive word. They feel their comment though negative is helpful, but it produces nothing but hurt feelings and anger. Positive comments build relations and help move to compromise.
Our vision of a perfect society is determined by our personal opinions and prejudices and what we see and feel about a issue. No two people will see everything the same way but from the view from where we are and our view of the issue.
In Japan, there is a large stone artwork. There are 12 large stones set in such a pattern that you must walk around the entire creation to see them all. At no point can you see all of the stones. Something is always hidden by something else. What we see depends on where we are looking from.
As children, we were told the story of five blind people show an elephant with each touching a different part. To one, it was a rope. He felt the tail. Another felt a leg, and it was a pole. Next one felt the side and said it was like a wall. Others commented on the trunk and tusks. Each was right in their own vision, yet all were wrong. Only after all of their ideas were heard and brought together did they come up with what an elephant was like.
As a country, we need to refrain from constant criticizing those we disagree with and listen to each other and look forward to a constructive compromise.
William Gerhard, Scipio