It’s unfortunate that we no longer have Aretha Franklin around to remind us about respect.

Americans, when meeting fellow citizens with opposing political views, or a person of a different religion or race, must treat each other with respect. Doing so would be salutary for all of us and for the nation, especially after the recent election that introduced the very real prospect of four more years of division.

Gatherings of family, work colleagues, friends or acquaintances should not descend into a climate of incivility – or worse – because of political or other divisions. And every American should feel safe going about their daily lives without being targeted by others.

Among the latest and worst manifestations of our divided, even hateful, times is a rise in anti-Semitism. Officials said two Jewish students were beaten on the DePaul University campus Wednesday while students were “visibly showing their support for Israel.”

Last month, vandalized billboards along the Tri-State Tollway near Northbrook included messages that read “F*** Israel” and “Death to Israel.” Last week, a man was charged with terrorism and a hate crime for shooting an Orthodox Jewish man attending synagogue in West Ridge. A crowd surrounded a Loop synagogue Wednesday night. One person vandalized it, and the crowd harassed Jews entering the building, the Anti-Defamation League said.

Other dangerous signs of intolerance: two weeks ago, vandals broken windows holding Palestinian flags at Uptown’s Nabala Cafe for the second time in two months. In September, the Chicago branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes had increased nearly 200 percent in Chicago since October 7, 2023.

And WIRED magazine some supporters report of President-elect Trump are sharing violent-themed memes online to celebrate Trump’s victory and calling for the jailing or even execution of his political opponents. “I was promised Hitler shit. I’m asking for Hitler’s shit,” one person wrote on Patriots.win.

Much smaller signs of disrespect aren’t as dangerous, but they contribute to an overall climate of incivility: One woman told us that an apparent Donald Trump supporter set off very loud firecrackers the night after Trump was designed to win the presidency by disrupting a west. suburban area that is home to most Kamala Harris supporters.

“Rise and Fall Together”

Chicago Human Relations Commission Commissioner Nancy Andrade at City Council budget hearings Thursday said her agency is concerned about a potential post-election rise in hate crimes and “hate incidents”.

Let’s not go down that road. Instead, remember, as former President Barack Obama said, we rise or fall together, as one nation and as one people. It may not feel that way now for millions of Americans reeling from an intense election. But democracy needs unity to survive.

A 2019 Pew Research Center the survey found most people he did not necessarily believe that officials of his own political party should treat the other party with respect. Of course, they believed—by a wide margin—officials other the party should treat his with respect.

Does anyone see the logical flaw here?

A 2022 study from the University of Chicago concluded that democracy is based on people who disagree with each other by listening to others’ points of view, having discussions and finding political compromises.

Have we seen a lot of that lately? Those who denigrate people of other political persuasions are not behaving like true patriots. Even worse, those who defame or attack people of another religion, ethnicity or race are not acting with basic decency.

People have more interests in common than problems that divide them. At a time when it seems that Americans will be encouraged to fear each other, we must find our better angels and make this a nation where democracy can sink deeper and deeper roots.

The country’s history is full of periods when different groups viewed other Americans as enemies and resorted to antagonism or violence. We should not yield to this urge now, but rather work to uphold the timeless ideals that, at their best, hold this nation together.

The day after Election Day, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops asked Americans to respect each other.

That’s good advice. Political extremism leads to the dehumanization of others. This is not fertile ground for democracy.

Respect is.

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