This week I received an insightful and timely op-ed piece from an avid Loose Gravel reader in Allen, Texas: 

Nobody Wins a Blood Feud

by Kril Cunningham

You know what the problem with blood feuds is?  People die, and nobody wins.

Welcome to the world of U.S. politics in the oughts.  Republicans vs. Democrats is the new Hatfields vs. McCoys (no offense to Colt).  It's a blood feud that's rooted in ignorance and misunderstandings, and it's the single most destructive force facing those of us who love this country.

Two years ago I couldn't turn on the radio or television without listening to someone like Bill Maher or Nancy Pelosi decry our President as a dim-witted loser that's hellbent on destroying America. Now I can't turn on the radio or television without listening to Rush Limbaugh or Mike Pence call our President an arrogant socialist with plans to destroy America.

You know what?  George W. Bush and Barack Obama both love this country.  Why else would they subject themselves, and their families, to the scrutiny and misery of being in the ultimate spotlight?  It's pretty unlikely that either of them had a moment when they turned to their wife and said, "Hey, I bet it would be a gas to send our kids to school for the next decade with Secret Service agents glued to their hip" or "Let's lead a life filled with death threats and zero privacy."

Presidents make those sacrifices because they care about this country.  We may not agree with their policy ideas - and that's okay, it's good to have positive discourse and debate about policy - but can we at least stop the name calling and hateful rhetoric?

It's clear that our elected officials in Washington (and Austin) are incapable of toning down the venom, so let's take it upon ourselves to set the example and demand that they follow our lead.

This means that we need to start viewing a Presidential address to our children as an opportunity to teach, and not an opportunity to espouse hypocrisy.

What do I mean by hypocrisy?  Let's try to identify this quote:

"The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the President, it should be helping us to produce smarter students.  And the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"

It was probably Governor Rick Perry.

No wait - it may have been Republican leader Michael Steele.

Nope, on second thought I bet it was Sean Hannity.

Tired of guessing?  It was former Democratic House Majority Leader, Dick Gephardt getting his knickers in a twist over then President George H.W. Bush's national address to school children in 1991.  A practice he learned from his predecessor, President Ronald Reagan.

We sit here 18 years later watching the same story play out - only the party roles are flipped.  This time the Republicans are up in arms and the Democrats are defending the President.

It's hypocrisy, plain and simple.

As parents, we let our children down when we fail to take advantage of these moments to teach them both sides of the story.  In sports, we teach them to watch game film of their opponent.  We teach them not to taunt their opponent during the match.  We even teach them to show respect to their opponents by shaking hands after the game.

Let's listen to each other.  Let's respect differing opinions.  Let's work together to make this country the best it can be.

Above all else, let's stop pissing and moaning about our differences and put forth the effort to find common ground.  Because if your son or daughter becomes President some day, and half the country accuses them of being the devil for making a speech to the nation's school children, then we have all failed.