We have our differences, but we're beautiful when we come together

Opinion admin June 12, 2026 0 Comments

We have our differences, but we’re beautiful when we come together | Opinion

I am grateful for the faithful people who have read my column over the years. . Many of them have shared their life’s stories with me, telling me about growing up in Miami, and in other cities and states. They share the good and the bad.

Some were brought up by racist parents, but somehow turned out just fine. Many shared that they didn’t know what segregation was until they moved to Miami when they were young and saw, firsthand, how hateful Jim Crow was. Some even apologized for the pain that was inflicted on African Americans.

Others told me how their parents worked hard to instill in them the Golden Rule, that is, treat others the way you want to be treated.

While I appreciate their apologies, I know the actions of their parents and fore-parents are not their fault, and they shouldn’t have to carry the blame. Still, such letters have been a bridge to new friendships. I love hearing about their accomplishments, about their children and grandchildren.

Some letters make me laugh; some bring me close to tears. Hearing about what makes other people tick is good for me. It lets me know that we all face the same day-to-day problems, that the things that make them laugh or cry often get the same reaction from me.

Their emails tell me that good and bad comes from people of different cultures and backgrounds, and that while we look different on the outside, we’re not so different after all.

It is comforting to read the stories my readers share with me. It’s like watching a great big crazy quilt come together. The bright colors and the ragged edges sewn together make a beautiful creation.

That’s how I like to view America. We don’t all look alike, and we don’t all sound alike. We have come to these shores from every corner of the world. And while we have struggled to be truly united, we keep trying. When we all come together as one nation, we are a beautiful creation.

This column gives us the opportunity to share our thoughts and our faiths. Not everyone who reads my column is of the Christian faith. And I like that, because we learn from each other. We also pray for each other.

Recently, I received an email from someone who was facing a medical issue and asked for my prayers. I am still praying for her.

Sometimes I get column ideas from our email conversations. Recently an avid and longtime reader JoAnn Fine, sent me this quote from the late Bobby Kennedy:

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion towards one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country; whether they be white or they be Black.”

As I read it the quote, I realized that Bobby Kennedy died nearly six decades ago, yet his words ring true today. Violence and hatred and lawlessness should never have a home in America. I know I sound like a dreamer. And I am.

I am not ashamed to tell you that I dream of a world where there is no hunger, or homelessness. Or strife or malice or backbiting. I am not ashamed to tell you that I dream of a president who loves peace and does all he or she can to promote it; a president who actually serves ALL the people, not just those who look the other way when he or she goes south.

I know there will always be disagreements. But we are intelligent human beings, and we should be able to find better ways to settle our differences. We can learn to disagree with each other without being hateful.

This is the kind of conversations I usually have with my readers. And I have seen that recently I am not getting the hate mail that I used to get. I would like to think that my “soft” answers to the hate letters have helped to turn around their anger.

Not that they should see things my way, but to see things in a different light. I hope that my answers will help them to think before becoming angry with me, or anyone else, because of an opinion that is different from theirs.

To me, writing this column is almost like having a ministry. I am not a preacher. I do not claim to have been “called” by God to preach to the American people, or any other people, for that matter. I have always said, being a journalist is a blessing to me because I get to do what I love to do for a living.

However, I don’t write for the sake of writing. It is my earnest desire to use this column as a voice for the voiceless, and one that cries out for peace and unity. I want it to reflect my life as an instrument of peace, a light in a world filled with darkness. .

The following letter, one of several that shared the same sentiment, tells me that perhaps I’m getting there:

Dear Mrs. Hines,

Thank you for being the voice of reason and sanity. I very much enjoy your articles. They represent simple truths and basic core values.

Your most recent articles about accurately reporting history, especially the Jan. 6 debacle, should be reprinted every day until Americans realize what this administration has done to us. It is shameful for America and all Americans.

Keep writing the truth. I can only pray your voice will be heard.

Sincerely,

Raquel Benson