In the last few months we have seen an extreme exchange flaws in the other side’s reasoning. This may be an interesting spectacle for bystanders, but it is no way to come to some consensus, far less a solution for the issue of how to protect innocents, be they school children, shoppers, movie-goers, or householders.

The idea of “walking a mile in the other person’s moccasins” is a sound one. Only when we understand the mindset of the person on the other side of the argument can we begin to dream up solutions. The other person may have a military boot on his foot that pinches and restricts the foot. Another person may be wearing 10″ high heels. Her toes may hurt and she fears falling on her face. Yet another may live in comfortable athletic shoes, bulky, but with solid foot support.

Maybe, we all need to go to a sandy beach, take off our shoes and walk barefoot on the sand for a while. We need to feel our feet again, their imprint in the wet sand, the grains between the toes, the sharp bits of shell cutting the soles. We need to get in touch with our true nature again, shed the cultural masks of fear, protection, and prejudice. Then we might  see that our feet make very similar footprints in the sand and that the next tide washes over them just the same.