The other day, I had a good talk.  With my sister.  She is a little bit younger, chronologically.  I am a little bit older, chronologically.  We were raised in the same house, by the same parents with several permutations of their individual and collective presence.  Obviously, we have had different experiences.  She had to live with me; I had to live with me, so I acknowledge that affront.  She now lives on one coast and I on the other, separated by time, space, and a host of ideologies.  But we talk.  It is so easy for me to cement reality through the function of my perspective.  Unconsciously, without intent of overt narcissism.  That is why the Bible says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man (read person) sharpens another.”  It is good to talk, with anyone, but there is a special joy in conversing with those you love and respect.  So, I am sure you are all chomping at the bit to know the particulars of our conversation.  Well, we talked about everything, in a way.  Basically, in my opinion, there was a sort of interchange, exchange and commingling of our collective reactions to, desires for, and experiences with, the nation.  Our politics are quite different, symptomatically.  Our religious application is quite different, emblematically.  And our approaches to social justice stand apart somewhat radically, moderately emphatically and all this threatens viable conversation, dramatically.  But who we are matters more than what there is to be said.  Different approaches are inevitable in life, and especially with removed geography.  We have not had the opportunity to stew in the same rhetorical juices.  Initially, each of us put forth what I perceived as our oft-repeated verbal position papers.  I believe this . . .  There was disagreement in these boldly tentative forays into expression.  As words circulated, a theme began to emerge.  There was a common goal we both sought.  Friendship, community, even love for the peoples of this country.  That’s what there seems to be a core desire for.  I’m not talking a “Can’t we all just get along?” limp admonition.  I’m talking a willingness to exhale and work.  Many people are getting here.  Many want to take a last few shots, unfortunately, and then roll up their sleeves.  We must collectively get over ourselves if we want to move forward in a way that doesn’t necessarily embrace unity or diversity (all though that wouldn’t hurt), but whole heartedly  grabs on to individual validity.  We’re all friggin’ people.  OK, I departed from the actuality of our conversation there.  The talk just showed me that an honest exploration of earnest positions can shockingly be effectively cathartic.  We may not be the world, but we are us.  You are you, and I am me.  Let us start there.