Dear Readers,
This week, election season has come and gone, leaving behind the predictable landscape of winners, losers, cheerers, and grumblers. Isn't that always how it goes? No matter the outcome, one side’s smiling while the other side is picking up the pieces. But today, I’m not here to weigh in on the results of the election. Instead, I’d like to shine a light on something that happened two days after. Something that left a pit in my stomach and, I hope, gives us all a bit of pause.
The story starts with a call the Quill received Thursday morning. A man wanted to place a classified ad offering a 15% discount for Trump supporters. He didn’t mince words and told us upfront that the Horse Trader had already turned him down. And, after a beat, I had to tell him the same. Now, don't get me wrong; it wasn’t because I had any issue with his political stance. It was because the ad, in its own quiet way, was exclusionary. It seemed like a small thing on the surface, maybe even trivial to some, but it was troubling for what it hinted at. I couldn’t, in good conscience, let that ad run.
Just minutes after that phone call, I logged onto Facebook and stumbled upon a post from a local group. They were calling for a list of businesses in town owned by Democrats. Their intention was clear: These were the businesses they wanted to support, effectively leaving others out in the cold. I felt a pang in my chest reading that post because it didn’t sit right with me, not one bit. Here was the flip side of the coin, but the result felt the same, exclusion, division, a narrowing of the circle.
The truth is, both incidents disturbed me equally, though in different ways. They may seem insignificant, just one person’s ad and a random post, but they’re symptomatic of something much larger and, frankly, much uglier. When we start sorting our community by political allegiance, making mental lists of who is “for us” and “against us,” we chip away at the foundation of what makes us a community in the first place. And in a nation already deeply fractured, do we really want to go down this path? Do we want to keep hammering the wedges deeper and deeper?
History tells us that “lists” and segregations never end well. Some of the darkest periods in human history were marked by who was on what list. Now, before anyone accuses me of overreacting or making mountains out of molehills, let’s just remember that all big fires start with a small spark. One ad here, one post there — if left unchecked, they can ignite a broader trend of division that spreads until the flames engulf the whole house.
Let's not fool ourselves into thinking we’re “preserving” our values by cutting out everyone who doesn’t share them. Instead, we’re eroding something precious: Unity, community, the idea that we can work and live side by side, no matter how different we are. By segmenting where we shop, where we eat, or whose businesses we support based on political affiliation, we’re shrinking our world into tiny, echoing chambers where we only see reflections of ourselves. Is that truly what we want?
If we continue to put ourselves in boxes, only supporting those who align with our politics, then who are we really helping? Not our local businesses, that’s for sure. Not our neighbors, not our families, and certainly not ourselves. And in the end, it’s the community that suffers.
As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” And he was right, wasn’t he? A strong, vibrant America isn’t built on pockets of political purity. It’s built on the grit, sweat, and good hearts of folks who see themselves as part of something bigger. Let’s not lose sight of that. America’s strength lies with its people, with us, in our ability to see beyond politics and see each other as human beings with shared dreams and struggles.
America will never reach her full potential if we’re constantly tearing ourselves apart from within. So, let’s resist the urge to sort, label, and narrow. Let’s cast our nets wider, look for common ground, and remember that while politics matter, they don’t define everything about who we are. If we want America to be strong, then we need to be united. Now more than ever.
