To heal our fractured society, ditch the screens and just talk in person | Opinion

Choose respect

When controversies play out online, it is easy to forget there are real people on the other side of our screens. I am part of this, so I know we need a better way forward.

Progress does not come from comments typed behind keyboards and smartphone screens. It comes when we talk face-to-face, listen without rehearsing our responses and remember that disagreement does not cancel someone’s humanity. When we meet in person, tone matters. Stories matter. Relationships matter.

We do not have to agree on everything to treat one another with dignity. We do not have to resolve every issue to choose respect. But we do have to be willing to show up.

If we want to move forward as a community, it will not happen online. It will happen in real conversations with real people.

- Alan Bentrup, North Richland Hills

Vote Rehmet

The runoff scheduled for Texas Senate District 9 between Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss merits voter scrutiny. In the first round of the special election contest, Rehmet secured 48% of the vote. Wambsganss took 36%, as a second Republican split the GOP vote.

Wambsganss is endorsed by Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. She was a prominent figure in the Southlake public school controversy, even though her children were not students in the district.

Rehmet is a working-class Air Force veteran. He is endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO executive board, Vote Vets, the Texas Federation of Teachers and the IAM union.

In the previous election, Rehmet was outspent 10 to 1. Who is trying to buy the outcome on Wambsganss’ behalf? The power of money can be canceled by a big voter turnout.

- Loveta Eastes, Fort Worth

Inefficient food

Animal farming is a terrible drain on our resources, even without considering the effect on the climate. About 77% of global agricultural land is used for livestock farming, despite animal products providing us with less than 20% our calories, according to one study. It is irrational how much we love our meat, especially when plant-based alternatives have progressed so far.

In the end, it isn’t efficient. You might feed a cow 10 pounds of corn to get 1 pound of beef, but you could have just eaten the corn and gotten way more food. Taking into account the water used to grow all that feed and animals’ emissions, it becomes clear that animal farming has no place in our future.

- Aryaman Kuumar Roy, Frisco