Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
As we approach the 2024 presidential election, the electorate is highly polarized. This is driven in large part by social media and high-profile individuals espousing misinformation and distorting or ignoring factual data. Each side accuses the other of causing this divisiveness. Such polarization disrupts the civil discourse necessary to address and solve our common problems such as climate change and housing. Is there no solution to this?
Perhaps requiring citizens over age 18 to spend two years in either military or civilian service would help achieve this by taking people out of their comfort zone and exposing them to the rich diversity of our society. Such a domestic program could bring together people who would put aside their partisan leanings and work together to restore civil discourse and address society’s problems. Perhaps then we will realize a United States of America.
Michael Bornemann
Hawaii Kai
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.
>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.
>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite #7-500 Honolulu, HI 96813
>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter