My new-found best friends.

Most people who disagree with me. On a variety of topics. From politics to religion to life in general. Are pretty decent people. Decent enough for us to be friends. Turns out. That when we talk and listen to each other, we aren’t that far apart. Little wonder that we often become friends. Really, it’s the decent thing to do. But we have been taught and programmed. To be enemies. That goes against my religious upbringing. To love thy enemies. Initially, I thought that was asinine advice. Instead, I hated and detested and distrusted my so-called enemies. Until I got to know them. Intimately. Sure, I learned they were different. Not my clone. Turns out. I found that it’s more difficult to love my clone. Than it is to love an enemy and making him a friend. Finally. Finally. I understood. We were stimulating each other. Because of our differences. We got each other to think. About the alternatives. About life’s many, many options. We made each other better (and more decent) human beings. One by one by one. My enemies are becoming my best friends. --Jim Broede