Our good friend Paul Dietrich has produced a couple of moving video programs on the process and merit of forgiving various types of offences, and how doing so empowers and restores both the forgiver and the forgiven, allowing life for both to proceed on a happier and more positive plane. While we saw excerpts of these films in our church prior to Easter, they were reshown in their entirety on several PBS stations during the Easter week. They are religious only in that they speak to the "better angels" of all humanity.

Purple finds their message compelling, not only personally but politically. Now that the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates seem to have been determined, it is the moment to look to the coming campaign to decide who will lead our nation through the troubling times ahead. As we the voters do so it is enlightening to remember that each person, each one of us, including the candidates, is an imperfect human being with opinions, fears, ambitions, likes and dislikes formed by his or her personal experiences since birth. So it seems obvious that each of us will react differently to some extent from others when faced with any particular choice, problem, or, for that matter, opportunity.

In the recent past, political campaign messages have concentrated on emphasizing those differences, attempting to arouse the emotions of voters of one general persuasion to see opponents as wrongheaded or evil, and so excite voters to respond favorably to the sender's message. In these efforts the truth is stretched, science ignored, history distorted, and personal histories and personalities misrepresented or misunderstood in order to win elections. Anger replaces civility, shouting at replaces listening to, and grudges take permanent root. Hate wins, but the nation – all of us – loses.

Let's pause for a minute. Why do we have elections? Obviously, to elect people to govern. But what does it take to govern effectively? Purple would answer that question from his own experience, admittedly individual and incomplete:

Effective governance requires seeing all sides of an issue, and both the short and long term effects of proposed policy options to address it. Listening to the views of others is required; no one has all the answers. Civility, even friendship, should replace ideology, zealotry and anger. Communicating honestly and objectively to the citizens is essential. Placing the nation's interests ahead of one's own is an ethical mandate.

Clearly the negative tone of the recent primaries, and the partisan shots across party lines are antithetical to good governance. The dilemmas our nation faces will not be changed by the results of any election. They can be tamed only by constructive, collegial policy development and implementation by those elected to govern, and by the informed understanding and support of the citizenry.

Here is where the virtue of forgiveness resonates. The first step towards collegiality is to apologize for past offenses. Both parties and many candidates have reason to do so. If they can, then the campaigns to come will debate policy options in a positive way, moving towards collegial solutions that have voter input and support. If we cannot take that difficult, humble step, then, as our government operates, an angry minority (of whichever party) will create gridlock over the issues, and our nation will drift rudderless on increasingly turbulent seas.

Our children, and our founding ancestors, deserve better. A positive –and forgiving – America is still "the last, best hope of Earth."