Opinion

To the Editor:

Stephen King’s 1982 novella, “The Body,” was adapted into the award-winning, 1986 film, “Stand by Me.” There are significant differences between the two versions of the story, but both are primarily about friendship. It is a tale about Gordie LaChance, his friend, Chris Chambers, and two other 12-year-old friends, who go on a journey to find the dead body of a missing boy near Castle Rock, Oregon. It was Labor Day Weekend in 1959.

Fort Wayne, my hometown, has a telephone service that residents can use to ask questions, request city services or report situations which require attention from city departments. I’ve never used this service but I have a friend who contacts the 311 folks daily.

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

It has been two and a half years since the COVID pandemic pushed the United States into recession. The national economy remains burdened by the pandemic, particularly in labor markets. While the unemployment rate is low, levels of total employment and labor force participation have failed to return to pre-COVID levels. New data is beginning to offer a better understanding of why that is the case.

I recently wrote about the disturbing and dangerous polarization among Americans. I noted that hyper-partisanship, a geographic divide creating opposing homogenous communities and groupthink, ideologues and race were major factors creating our polarization. Yet I also wrote we Americans agree on far more than on which we disagree.

(Jeffersonville & New Albany) News and Tribune

Two pictures of Indiana.

We are the United States yet we are extremely polarized. I emphasize united because, in fact, we Americans agree on far more than on which we disagree. A Brown University study revealed that America is more polarized than any other democracy in the world.

New York Daily News