Gentle Men and Women - I emplore you to think about the art of communication

Gentle men and women - I had lunch today with a very respected man. A gentleman I deeply admire and respect. Our conversation flowed from one interesting subject to another. I took away alot of wise thoughts and ideas...but one thing he said has stuck with me all day.

He spoke of a time, not too long ago when he saw two major politicians walking together, laughing and chatting at an event in Washington. He told me of their party differences, their political battles....after all, they were running against each other in a national election. But he said as he watched, what hit home was that at the end of the day, they were friends and held great respect for each other.

These men were rivals, but friends - never to throw mud, never to be party to insulting and ugly rhetoric, never to be disrespectful towards each other. Maybe you could use the word statesman to describe them.

Good role models for us today? You bet! They knew the art of how to politely and intelligently disagree. It does seem to get so much more accomplished.