The conservative commentator Erick Erickson had an op-ed piece in The New York Times on September 30, 2017, "How To Find Common Ground." He speaks more directly and far more eloquently than we ever could about one of our motivations for making this trip. I urge you to read the entire piece, but the final couple of his paragraphs are worth quoting here:

Not everything should be political, and we can only make everything political when we decide the other side is evil just because they disagree with us. We can see the world only in this polarized way if we never take the time to know anyone on the other side, if we never find ways to build friendship despite our differences.

Every person has an interesting story to tell. I want my children to know my story. But I also want them to know that the stranger next door has one, too, and that even if they disagree on much, they can still be friends.

We may also never find that common ground with people whose politics or faith conflicts with ours. But we owe it to one another to disagree agreeably, without anger or intimidation, whether on a front porch or a Facebook page. A little more grace among us all would go a long way toward healing the nation.

A little over two weeks into our trip the one thing we are certain of is that everyone does have an interesting story to tell, and if you are willing to invest just a few minutes to begin a conversation the gift at the end of the time is a new connection that didn’t exist before. Therein lies the possibility of beginning to understand someone on the other side of the divide.

Luckily, I’m not a shy person and don't find it difficult to begin a conversation with a stranger. And not once on this trip has anyone rebuffed my attempts or blown me off. Typically, the opposite is true. It's a good thing we travel slowly. Many folks have lots to tell us.

Before we left home many people said they thought we had a lot of courage to make this trip and try to engage with people on the other side of the divide. Some actually asked if we planned to carry a gun, or at least a can of Mace. But the thought of having a gun or Mace, or courage, hasn't even entered our minds when we've said "Nice pie" or "Nice day" and waited to see if it would elicit a conversation. I’ve been thinking a lot about courage these days, for example, what it must have taken for Susan Collins and John McCain to stand firm to their principles against the pressure from their Senate colleagues and DT, and vote against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. And as we travel through Yosemite and witness the ravages of the 2014 forest fires I think about the men and women who put theirs lives on the line to fight those fires. That's courage.

When I think about courage these days, I think mostly about my good friend David Hiley’s 12-year-old grandson Jude. Jude lives in Atlanta where he is being treated for osteosarcoma, which is a type of bone cancer. David sent me this photo of Jude throwing out the first pitch at the September 30 Atlanta Braves game four days after he received his prosthesis. I can’t think of a finer example of courage. Go Jude!

Courage: Lora

Detour: Bozeman and Driggs (David)

Mount Rushmore: Revisited (Lora)