Letter to the Editor: Why create even more of it?
To the Editor:
My great-grandfather was a surgeon who attended the University of Iowa for medical school. His son-in-law, my grandfather, played football for a couple of years at the University of Iowa and was a graduate of the institution. I am even a graduate of the University of Iowa as my medical education was completed in a Family Medicine Residency that was affiliated with the University of Iowa and I proudly display the degree on my office wall.
For over 60 years, my grandfather and grandmother had season tickets to Iowa football and for about 45 years had season tickets for Iowa basketball. From the age of two or three, I could sing the Iowa Fight Song and my bedroom was decorated with Iowa gear. I started buzzing my hair off in the first grade so I could look like BJ Armstrong and Roy Marble of the Hawkeye basketball team.
I was told and taught that those who went to Iowa State or cheered for Iowa State were enemies and not nearly as smart or tough or successful as “our” Iowa Hawkeyes. You could say I bled the Black and Gold of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
But, then a funny thing started to happen - my friends from high school went to Iowa State and they liked it there and told me how great it was; my wife Stefanie went there to get her Master’s Degree and received a great education and she shared with me how great it was; I spent a month there in medical school with their team physician and sat on the bench with their basketball, wrestling and gymnastics teams and I saw how great the student athletes and Hilton Coliseum were.
Do I still think Iowa State is worse than Iowa or that the Hawkeyes are a superior set of athletes and students when compared to the Cyclones like I was told they were? Absolutely not!
I learned through an open mind, personal experience and the positive comments from others the great things the school has to offer. Did my friends, wife or the athletes I worked with disparage the Hawkeyes or me because I was a fan and a graduate from the University of Iowa? No, but they spoke about the great things they experienced and shared the love they had for their school, their professors, their classmates, their coaches, and their teammates. It was through them speaking about the accomplishments, attributes and positive aspects of their school - and doing so with kindness, passion, compassion, enthusiasm and joy - that made me rethink my stance on Iowa State.
Now to the point of my editorial - let’s replace University of Iowa or Iowa State University with Democratic Party or Republican Party, or Packers or Vikings, or Cubs or Twins, or any religious denomination. Some of us are Republicans or Democrats because we were told to be from a very young age. Some of us go to the churches we go to because that’s where we were told to go from a very young age. Some of us like the Packers because that’s who we were told was our team.
Will Democrats make Republicans rethink their stance by saying derogatory things in the paper or on social media about their platform?
Will Republicans make Democrats vote for their candidate by telling them how stupid they have been all these years by voting for the Democratic Party?
Will a Vikings fan become a Packer fan by being told how they’ve never won a Super Bowl and making fun of their choice?
Has berating someone for their religious beliefs ever converted someone to your “side?”
Has mocking someone for their mask or vaccine status and calling them names made them reconsider their decision?
Has yelling and screaming and putting others down ever won someone over, or does it only make them dig their heels in more?
We’ve all read the Letters to the Editor and social media posts and viewed the political flags with inappropriate language and listened to the political ads for the last few years where people just attack and attack and attack the other side - but now it’s time to stop! These lines of attack and belittling others are not going to change anyone’s minds, but only create more division, anger and outrage.
Tell us registered Independents the good things about your party. Tell us Chicago Cubs fans who want a new team why your team is the best. Tell those of us who have stuck with the Chicago Bears and who still wrongly think they are the Monsters of the Midway from 1985 why we should choose your team.
Let’s stop the anger and finger-pointing and name-calling when it comes to every issue we face these days - politics, COVID, vaccines, masks, religion, sports, etc. Let us share the great things about our choices and let us do so with kindness, passion, compassion, enthusiasm and joy! Let us come together to enjoy the blessings we have in our shared existence as Americans, Iowans, residents of Allamakee County, football fans, baseball fans, individuals who are all made in the image and likeness of God, and as inhabitants of this tiny little ball spinning and flying through the infinite universe.
It’s the only life we have together here on Earth and the only shot we get for the afterlife, so let’s use it for positivity, kindness and love - not anger, revenge, hate and belittling others. There’s already enough division, unrest, hatred and violence in the world - why create even more of it?
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Perkins
Waukon
