Editor:

When I was young I remember hearing a phrase about "playing nice in the sandbox." It was a reminder that other kids had a right to be in the sandbox just as much as I did. If I didn't want to share or didn't like that kid, I could either get out or get along.

The sandbox is an apt metaphor for America today. We all live in the same sandbox, but there are lot of people here with whom we disagree about politics, social issues, sports teams, economics, etc.

As a kid how did I learn to play nice with the other kids in the sandbox? I had to take a deep breath and figure it out. I enjoyed the sandbox too much to just give up and leave. It turned out that I actually enjoyed playing with some of those other kids and became friends with them.

Today as adults, we must learn to do the same. But how do we exist in the same sandbox with people who hold opposite views with which we disagree and often find abhorrent? We must humbly listen. We listen to learn. We listen to understand. We listen to their fears and to their hopes. We listen to their life experiences and to their dreams for themselves and for America.


We all have deep-seated reasons for what we believe. I'd love to listen to yours so that we can learn to play nicely together in the American Sandbox.

We are all blessed!

Rev. Dan Lambert

North Port

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