In the midst of the hoopla surrounding the presidential election there is the overriding concern about how fractured we are as a nation. I must admit that in my lifetime I have never been aware of such rancor and lack of agreement. To temper this concern I am reminded of how this nation was born. The level of disagreement among the founding fathers was at least as volatile as what exists today. There is a wistful fable that cultivates the image of the colonists sitting around a table holding hands and singing kumbyah but nothing could be further from the truth. Some were initially loyal to the king of England and wanted no part of what they perceived to be insurrection. Others radically wished to retain slavery ,and were open to negotiating with England. A small minority saw something different and with passion and the willingness to engage in vigorous debate began to persuade the reticent. We are shouting at each other now and passionately embedding ourselves in concrete positions. We threaten to leave our country if our candidate is not elected ,but this is merely rhetoric. We all of us love this country too much to flee because we feel that we have lost. There will again come the moments when the confrontations will lessen, the posturing will be minimized and we will roll up our sleeves and work together to again strive for a more perfect union.