Democrat-Gazette online

I am here to give a shout-out of sorts to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

You read that right. So many things she does are anathema to what I believe as a Christian, what I want for my beloved state as an Arkansan, my expertise as a rural educator and experience as a parent, and what I think my country stands for as a patriotic American. The resentment and arrogance that emanate from her office as governor and translate into policies that mock the wisdom of moderation have grieved me to the point of giving up on her, which is something I try not to do with anyone. I want to believe the best in others, to work with nearly anyone, and can find common ground and build on it.

But I also don't want to be a fool. My naivete in those efforts has gotten me into trouble. So the goal is to avoid being fooled without becoming cynical and bitter. It is not easy. There is a balance between always believing the best in people, per 1 Corinthians 13, and doing what Maya Angelou says, which is when people show you who they are, believe them. That balance is my aim.

Another way of putting it is that we can keep a window of hope open, if just a crack, even when we have to shut the door on a person because they have shown us who they are. After all, the crack is where light--if there is any on a dark night in Arkansas--gets in.

I love it that Sarah Sanders read "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt. I have read everything Haidt has written since I first discovered him through his book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion." It was published in 2012 but wasn't on my radar until I started worrying about the subject with the rise of Donald Trump.

Haidt is a centrist and moral psychologist who teaches at New York University. He co-founded Heterodox Academy, which promotes viewpoint diversity in higher ed. He has been hailed as one of the most important thinkers in the world.

I believe he is a genuinely good human. He is one of those few public personas who--try as the world might--cannot seem to be bullied over to the right or left. He is like a tree planted on middle ground by the water of common sense.

Surely I can be forgiven for my surprise in finding out Sanders not only read "The Anxious Generation" but sent a copy to all our state legislators and every other governor in the U.S. She even hosted........

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