I admired George Kibildis’ letter to the editor encouraging us to avoid schadenfreude and learn to agree to disagree. Noble sentiments.
I would like to add a thought to Mr. Kibildis’ sentiments. Agreeing to disagree requires that the parties to a discussion of opinion or policy must be debating in good faith based on the same set of facts.
Facts are not negotiable. Only opinions or policies can be subject to debate, compromise and an agreement to disagree.
Then, the next issue of the Advertiser-News contained an article discussing the expectation that both Democrats and Republicans will be running for two state Assembly seats in District 24 and one seat on the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners.
What a wonderful opportunity for our community to put Mr. Kibildis’ suggestions to work. The voters of Sussex County should expect these candidates to debate policy issues in good faith and work toward ever improving the lives of our residents.
Our community can reject culture wars, disparaging comments and misinformation. We should fully expect that these candidates will inform us, so that we can make thoughtful voting decisions.
I, for one, am hopeful that “we the people” in our community will reject the divisiveness in our society as Mr. Kibildis suggests and vote for candidates who lead us in that direction as well.
Gary DiPippo
Wantage