Re “A Path Forward: NCRC to celebrate peacemaking in divided times” (March 26): Here in San Diego, it’s easy to believe the national story that America is tearing itself apart. If you step outside the headlines, walk along the bay, talk to a neighbor or wait in line for coffee, a different truth shows up. Most of us want the same things: safe streets, steady work, a chance to build something better for our kids. We want to feel rooted here, in a place we’re proud to call home.
What changes is the language. One person says “freedom,” another says “fairness.” One talks about “security,” another about “justice.” Different words shaped by different lives but often reaching toward the same hopes.
In a city like ours, where so many backgrounds meet, that overlap is everywhere if we choose to hear it.
We’re not that divided, we just haven’t been listening to each other quite yet.
— Kirthi Linnan, Little Italy