Guest column: No matter the issue, there are no winners in today’s divisive debates
A federal suit has been filed alleging that the Walt Disney Company has been deprived of its free speech and due process in Florida. I wonder if shareholders want to sue Disney executives over the recent drop in share prices by close to 15 percent.
How did we as a culture come to a place where major companies now peddle their brand of societal values and are no longer focused exclusively on sound business practices? The ones that produce quality goods at competitive prices to ensure their customers get what they bargained for, that employees have a secure income and benefits and shareholders are rewarded as the owners of these titans of the economy?
Government's role is meant to ride herd on public and private abuses against individuals and the public at large.
Yet, public education has been transformed into a universal force to guide every aspect of a child's development, instead of assisting parents by teaching students the basics of math, science, literature and art in a clean, safe and supportive environment.
Educators are motivated to step in when they believe parents fail. Where is that line of demarcation, and who gets to draw it?
Similarly, abortion is a matter to be confronted by a woman and her physician. But for nearly 50 years, Americans have been divided over the details of the issue.
How was it that nine men alone overruled the legislative process for an entire 50 states and U.S. territories to mandate a universal precedent of such consequence, both private and public?
Science and health care have continued to evolve since Roe v. Wade. Proponents and critics have revised their positions. It might be wise to consider that many countries have greater restrictions on abortion than the United States. There is also the fact that Black women make up about 7 percent of the total U.S. population but have nearly 40 percent of the abortions in this country, according to the Center for Urban and Renewal Education.
It is time to take stock of where we have arrived 49 years later and look for a reasonable and thoughtful reset. This personal and momentous action can only be settled by meaningful debate and consensus.
Likewise, CRT, transgender, and other emotionally charged societal issues require further scrutiny, along with people of goodwill seeking a path that will not be crafted along ideological fault lines where the same tired talking points are all that each side hurl towards the other.
To date, we only see winning at any cost by entrenched extremes, meaning everyone loses and no one wins. Who will emerge to lead, when will they appear and from where?
Rob Richardson, Jacksonville Beach
This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Guest column: No winners in today’s divisive debates
