A couple of days ago, my 95-year-old mother passed away suddenly. She was doing well one day, and a day or two later, she was gone. The one good thing was that she didn’t suffer.

Right now, there are all sorts of loss. Our world, for instance, has lost its civility. The Democrats, the Republicans ... Red? Blue? Blackish? Whitey? Everyone is restricted by their loss of respect for one another and fear of one another.

I imagine my mother saw plenty during her 95 years. She loved discussing politics. I never had enough shrewdness to match her.

However, in my time, I’ve come to realize that we are discon- necting from the core of feeling each other’s sorrow.

Despite all the dialogue on tolerance nowadays, there was more compassion in the past than there is now. One can see it in every aspect of his or her life. Folks are at their boiling point, leading to mental health issues and premature deaths.

I truly believe that our conflicts with factions like the Dems, the GOP, genders, races and ethnicities are heightened moreso by whether you belong or don’t belong as a member of “the pep rally clan.”

RICK KNIGHT

Henrico County