Editor/ Publisher

Sunday night, I stayed up past my bedtime, catching up with a college roommate.

While I attended a parochial school from K-12, I treasure the years I spent at K-State. I especially value my roommates.

We were an eclectic collection of individuals. If you met us individually on the street, you would be surprised we all lived in peace under one roof. Our backgrounds, opinions, politics and religion ran the gamut.

I think it’s the diversity of opinions that I enjoyed so much. In our conversations, we rarely all shared the same viewpoint. Yet we were able to discuss points and counterpoints with respect, and at the end of the day, all sit down and enjoy a homecooked meal.

So back to my roomie who now lives in the D.C. area.

She texted Sunday, wanting to talk.

It’s been several years since we’ve been able to share more than a passing text message, so of course the conversation, which was supposed to be less than 30 minutes, exceeded an hour.

This roommate has a variety of global experiences. She was born outside U.S. borders to parents who are U.S. citizens. Following college, she spent several years in Africa, first as a member of the Peace Corps. I had the honor of traveling to her post in Niger, West Africa, to witness firsthand her work in helping build wells.

Later, she worked for a non-government organization on the eastern side of Africa.

She continues to work stateside to help improve the quality of life for others overseas, especially women.

She was also one of many who recently lost her job in the D.C. area.

When we talked, she wanted a temp-check for Kansas. In her neck of the woods, she said there was plenty of “doom and gloom.” She wanted to see what the political climate was outside of her immediate bubble of fellow workers who were also shut out of their jobs.

I was able to share some personal observations and stories, but I largely stay out of the quagmire that is national politics. I don’t have the stomach for it.

I’m not interested in entering any sort of discussion that could become a debate ... with almost anyone. I tend to be selective with those conversations. I limit them to those who are able to have open minds and hearts when we talk. I am happy to listen to their opinion, but only if it is an equal exchange of information. We both share. We both listen. The goal is not to win. It is not to change the other’s mind. It is simply to discuss.

Our Sunday night conversation naturally wove its way to our family, kids and other personal details.

While staying up past my bedtime isn’t ideal, investing the time to catch up with a friend was more important to me than a few extra Zs.

As we wrapped up our conversation, she surprised me by expressing gratitude. During the conversation, I shared observations and experiences. She said those anecdotes helped remind her that there is more than one side to a story. Just because someone acts in a way we don’t agree with doesn’t mean they don’t have what, in their mind, is a good reason to do so.

I’m glad my week started with this conversation. I hope we can continue to have open minds and hearts.

Bonar is the editor/publisher of the I-R and can be reached at kbonar@indyrepnews. com.