* So a group of “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” who claim to have “served with John Kerry in Vietnam” accuse the candidate of lying about his record. Their service with Kerry was, in fact, being in the same country at the same time. None of them ever worked with him. This is like me saying I “appeared on the same stage as Bruce Springsteen,” only 10 years apart. Curiously, this is the same group that launched ads in 2000 against 6-year POW John McCain accusing him of betraying his country while in captivity. McCain was running for president at the time. Déjà vu all over again.

* Memo to GOP: you really don’t want to talk about a candidate’s service in Vietnam. It can’t go well for you. Really.

* Who has more right to criticize the conduct of those prosecuting a war than someone who has fought in it?

* Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy. Let’s get to the bottom of things and start there.

* Let’s get over the flip-flop stuff. On one hand, the ability to learn and change one’s mind is a plus, not a negative. And on the other hand, there is plenty of flipping to go around. Nation-building, steel tariffs, “humility in foreign affairs,” the creation of a Department of Homeland Security, a 9-11 Commission, gay marriage as a state issue…please.

* Both political parties have spent tremendous energy, money and moral capital trying to assure that any dissent is kept far away from their convention proceedings. And the American public. With television almost entirely sanitized of diverse debate, radio “phone-in” show callers vetted for their beliefs and party loyalty pledges required for admission to campaign rallies, how’s a body politick to know how to have honest and productive discussions on issues that matter to us? I have a friend who once boasted to me, “My parents never fought. Ever.” He and his wife are at it all the time now. It’s ugly, pointless and destructive. Because they never learned how to disagree civilly and resolve differences.

That’s where we are these days. We stand on opposite sides of a great divide and scream at one another. Rather than anyone listening for even a nanosecond, we simply move the other side further away so we can’t make out their ideas. Nor they ours.

Dissent in a democracy is not treasonous. We are, in fact, a nation born of dissent. It is an essential ingredient in that spicy stew that is the lifeblood of a healthy society. We are a nation that decided, via our peculiar cultural evolution, to be a country of immigrants. We came here fleeing poverty, oppression, imprisonment, violent history…seeking a new start, religious and economic freedom, safety, opportunities. Today we use religious and economic differences as wedges. Safety is a political tool and opportunities are afforded only to the few. If we are courageous enough…as leaders and as citizens…to step into that Great Divide we just might begin solving the issues that could unite us once again. Register and Vote!

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