Nella Mae Parks is a young farmer, wife and mother from Union County. She does a little writing when she’s not busy running her farm, homeschooling, building a house and doing volunteer work.

So, when a regular contributor was unable to pen a commentary for this edition, I asked Nella Mae if she had anything she wanted to say.

It turns out she did. She’s thought a lot about the divisions caused by the pandemic, the protests and the bitter politics that dominate our day. She has a lot to say about how to bridge those gaps.

The divisions are upsetting because we like to think of Americans as a cohesive unit, E pluribus unum and all of that. But we only pass through history, experiencing so little of it that we aren’t always the best judge of what is normal.

In reality, throughout our history big issues have been polarizing. Americans have fought bitterly, sometimes over seemingly esoteric issues and always about politics.

Politicians, left and right, are good at stoking the flames, but not so good at putting out the fire and repairing the damage. It’s up to the rest of us — rural, urban, left, right, all creeds and colors — to reach an understanding with our neighbors and make peace.