In 2024...We need more Rubino brothers!

Back in the days when I was a Facebook user, I enjoyed catching up with an old College friend who was and I believe still is a renowned poster. I enjoyed catching up with the developments of his kids, his grandkids, his long standing (and some would say long suffering:)) wife but most of all I enjoyed the back and forth between him and his brother. Although he always protests that he’s not being political, his posts are easy to discern which side of the red/blue divide he’s on. His brother is on the other side and the back and forth between the two on everything from climate change to gun regulation was both fun and interesting to see. When he recently sent a note and I mentioned how much I enjoyed their idealogical wrestling matches his reply was wonderful. “Rick & I are very tight. The fact that we look at life differently due to different life experiences matters not. We are still the same 2 boys sharing a bunk bed in an attic bedroom”.

As we enter this new “Year of living dangerously” we will all face the divisiveness of our time in almost every encounter and relationship, whether real or virtual. It will evoke emotions that stem from deeply held beliefs about what’s right or wrong about nearly every conceivable issue; And we will be encouraged to vent those emotions and “never back down” by forces in the media and power politics that will feed on and profit from our anger and outrage. Nowhere is this more regrettable than in our family relationships where the sometimes fragile bonds are strained beyond breaking over differences about the issues of our day…from real wars to culture wars of every variety.

I’m hoping that in this New Year we can find ways to reflect and remember that the things that tie us together, especially in our families are a solid foundation that not only helps give our lives meaning but also a place and context from which we can disagree respectfully. When I was in Law School and read the case books that were the essential tools of our education, when we read a judicial opinion we also focused on the dissenting ones…and nearly all would begin with “I must respectfully dissent”…either in those or other words of similar meaning. It conveyed a profoundly important context to me; that while conflicting issues would frequently generate different opinions about rightful resolutions the foundation for those disagreements was a common respect not only for the law and our system of justice, but also for one another as we struggle to decide and articulate our opinions in difficult matters.

There is much for us to concern ourselves about in the coming year, with terribly difficult problems with unknown and possibly dire outcomes at stake. We need to not only do the hard work of formulating our own thoughtful positions but as importantly respectfully engage in the unavoidable conflicts with those who will disagree with us. Hopefully we can be like the Rubino brothers and be like the two boys who shared a bunk bed in the attic bedroom, and never let go of the foundation of family, friendship and yes humanity that connects us all in our hopes for a better world not only for ourselves but for the generations that will succeed us. Happy New Year.