Make sure hearts are right

Regarding the rallies that were held the past two days, it is a good thing for people to desire “peace and unity” and be willing to take a public stand for the same. However, how peace and unity are to be achieved is the crucial question. It seems to me that those aims can only be met as individual people have a genuine change of heart, and then, one-by-one, we will make a difference.

It is not helpful, in my view, to blame President Trump for hatred and bigotry that has been longstanding in some hearts. One could reasonably argue that the president immediately preceding him did much to foment racial hatred, and that President Trump took office with the “pot already boiling.”

“Haters gonna’ hate,” as they say — on both sides of the spectrum. It leaves it up to the rest of us to make sure that our hearts are right on the issue, and proceed accordingly.

David L. Rachoy

Rathdrum