We are stronger when we share our strengths. Some of us call ourselves conservative and some of us call ourselves progressives. In her May 13 column, Sue Lani Madsen says “… we need to keep talking.” I couldn’t agree more because we are losing sight of the fact that we are all Americans. We need emergency help; we need a fair chance to get an education and a job; we need public safety and a strong place in the world.

All of this requires a healthy government with the support of its citizens. There are places in the world where people are free from government meddling in their lives and they live in abject poverty by our standards. Think of much of Africa and the Middle East. This fighting among Americans will only hurt Americans. We need to defend the right of other Americans to have a different set of values and opinions from our own.

Our greatest strength comes from mutual respect so we need to work to find ways to welcome, benefit from and support our differences. That is how real Americans act “…with liberty and justice for all.”

Allan deLaubenfels

Spokane Valley