By the time you read this, we may know the winner of the Presidential election, as well as what Congress is going to look like the next couple of years. I…hope so. Stability has been scarce for much of 2020, and a peaceful post-election season would be a welcome change— if that happens. This has been a stormy year, and we could all use to catch our breath for the rest of it.

As you’ll see in this month’s Letters/Opinion section, we got a lot of feedback — most of it negative — regarding our decision to publish Doug Zork’s op-ed “Co-op Community Should be Open to Alternate Approaches to COVID.” A couple of the letter writers thought it irresponsible of us to publish the piece without an accompanying rebuttal, so there’s a belated one this month from Dr. David Lewis, managing partner at Mt. Airy Family Practice.

Lewis makes sane, knowledgeable arguments to counter those that Doug makes — something that’s been sorely lacking since the start of this pandemic. His op-ed made me wonder where we’d be as a nation if we’d relied on this type of response rather than the chaotic, nonsensical strategy (or lack thereof) we’ve used so far.

Like Dr. Fauci, I take a “this is business, not personal” approach to readers’ opinions on our editorial decisions. But it bothers me when people take the attitude that bringing ideas to the forefront that don’t match theirs is wrongheaded. When did we get to a point where we’re stationed in two separate camps about everything, with no room for compromise? Are we mimicking our leadership, who can’t seem to get much of anything done — including a desperately needed second stimulus package — because they’re afraid to tip their hand to the other side?

Sorting out our questions about COVID, racism or any other major issue — with an eye toward getting the facts right — should be ground zero for making policy going forward. Here’s hoping that will start to happen soon — even this late in the game.