I’m tired. The far left and the far right are killing me.

We need you both to remind us of possibilities on either side of any issue. But, you should not be running things for the rest of us. The “all-or-nothing” attitude which seems to dominate our politics (and everything else) does us no favors — as a matter of fact, is ruining things for all of us.

Talk about how great “things used to be”: There used to be a thing called “the loyal opposition”. Now there is just “opposition” — no loyalty to be found. I haven’t even heard the phrase used in ever so long.

To the left: Please stop letting the perfect (as you see it) be the enemy of the good. To the right: It isn’t even 1970 any longer, let alone 1950, or (shudder) 1776. (And you wouldn’t have liked it then any better.)

Bring your passion (politely) to the issues of the moment; but know that the other 80 percent of us will be satisfied to live in a safe, peaceful, relatively prosperous place, where we will love some things, hate others, and will have hope that the next election cycle will shift things more toward what we want.

Bring your passion (politely) to the issues of the moment, but know that change, progress, happens in the on-going interaction between poles — not in one side canceling the other.

We all need each other; maybe that’s why God doesn’t eliminate our enemies, but sits us at table together. (Psalm 23)

Pastor Doug Campbell, Wilmington

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, retired