Bob CollinsWe’ll take our kindness and humanity anywhere we can find it and today we find it from a couple of dueling politicians, which is why this qualifies as “news” and also why we’re constantly searching for kindness and humanity.
There’s nothing, as near as we can tell, that state Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, and Democrat Mark Dayton have in common. In fact, they couldn’t be more different politically. And, of course, each defends their philosophies with a white-hot passion.
So, this passage from Pioneer Press reporter Rachel Stassen-Berger in her story about well-wishes sent to Gov. Dayton after his collapse during the State of the State address on Monday night is well worth noting.
“I got flowers from the Senate Republican Caucus — very nice — and I got flowers from Rep. Mary Franson — very, very nice,” Dayton said. Franson is a Republican from Alexandria.
Franson told the Pioneer Press: “We can disagree about policies, but that does not negate the fact that we are human beings.”
There was a time in politics when this was normal and unremarkable.
