“The goal of life is to make your
heartbeat match the beat of the
universe,to match your nature
with nature” Joseph Campbell

A friend wrote to me today saying she would no longer send me emails because she could not have a civil discourse with me. She was the same person who censored my essays The Catholic Church in North Central Milwaukee from the Catholics for Peace and Justice Newsletter. She said the essays did not meet the “standards” of the newsletter but like those who have ignored the essays she gave no example. In my opinion since we do agree on how to use the 1.1 million dollars she has decided we cannot have a civil discourse.

I responded that civil discourse requires a difference of opinion. How can there be civil discourse when everyone agrees on everything? Creative conflict and civil discourse is necessary for a society to grow and develop. The problem these days is the right thinks it is always right and the left wants no conflict. This reminds me of the subtitle of Jim Wallis’ book “God’s Politics: The right gets it wrong and the left just does not get it.”

In the garden there is no right or wrong. One tries something and if it works continue it till it does not. If it does not work one just moves on to something different. For years I tried unsuccessfully to grow cucumbers and my friend tried to grow tomatoes. Finally this year we decided to exchange tomatoes for cucumbers. Our soil might be advantageous to a certain plant or another but we can overcome that with an exchange.

Now only if humans can do the same things with politics. When there is a conflict the two or more groups could sit down and resolve their difference even though they may need to compromise or have an exchange.

All this sounds so simple, but maybe it really is. I think technology makes us think everything is complicated but it may be really as simple as nature.

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