Our future can be glimpsed in the story of two families – the Gauthiers and the Kirkpatricks...

I could tell so many stories about the Kirkpatricks. For generations, they had been farming the arid lands of the western High Plains — Perkins County, Nebraska, on the Colorado border. I got to know them in the 80s when I was running the county’s weekly newspaper, the Grant Tribune-Sentinel.

We (the Gauthiers) lived out of town, in an old farmhouse a few miles down a gravel road from the Kirkpatricks. Our oldest daughter, Elli, and the Kirkpatrick’s grandson, Mitch, became best of friends, two little kids running around in the endless fields of wheat to the horizon.

Their oldest son, Brad, owned and ran the roller rink in town – he was my best friend. The dad, Vance, was one of the six people in the county who voted for my newspaper’s endorsed candidate in the ’86 Presidential election — Lyndon Larouche.

Through the drought, insects and sandstorms of the 30s, the Kirkpatricks held on, but in the 80s succumbed to a higher power — a neoliberal economic system — and lost the family farm to bigger fish.

After that, our two families went our separate ways. The Kirkpatricks went to Chicago, where they prospered as stone masons and brick layers. We went to Texas, where I went to work as an investigative reporter at the Fort-Worth Star Telegram.

Elli and Mitch grew up in different places. Elli pursued a career in music. Mitch went into building things.

Like so many others in this age of the internet, Elli and Mitch reconnected with old friends they hadn't seen in years, some going back to briefly shared moments of their childhoods running through the wheat fields of western Nebraska.

After last week’s big election, Elli wrote “An Open Letter to My Friends and Family Who Voted for Trump” and then posted it on Facebook.

Ellie wrote:

“First of all, I love you. And also I am really hurt, and confused. Because I know what you value. You love family. You love the promise of this country. You help people. I hope that, in this really tenuous moment, you remember that you know and love me too. You know that I am a good mom. That I would give the shirt off my back to help someone in need. That I am trying to leave this world in better shape than I found it. We have a lot in common.

I am trying to put myself in your shoes, because I have to believe that what Trump represents to me, he doesn’t represent to you. And I hope that – for a moment – you can put yourself in my shoes, too. That you can imagine the legitimate fear I feel. For the planet. For my country. For my wife. For my friends that are immigrants. For my child. For my transgender parent. I am hearing all the jokes about “liberal tears,” but I want you to know that these are MY tears.

“I want you to know the joy and affirmation that my son feels when he sees other rainbow flags in our town. It’s so validating to him. And now we’re contemplating taking our own flag down because we don’t feel safe. Imagine what that feels like. To not feel safe in your own home.

“How about we make a deal. I’m not going to write you off or unfriend you. I’m not going to jump on the hate-wagon that I see at every turn. I’ll continue to have faith in your goodness. I will respect the outcome of this election, and try to learn from this experience. But I ask for this in return...

“That you hold your own friends and family to a higher standard. When something doesn’t feel right, you stand up. When something feels cruel, or hateful, that you voice your opposition. That you get REALLY clear about your own moral compass, on a deep level, before January 20. And when those boundaries are crossed, you voice your opposition. Deal?

Mitch commented:

“Deal. Live your life. I'll live mine. I respect your choices. You respect mine. I will love you as my sister. You love me as a brother. We are not divided. We have been coaxed into the idea that I hate you and you hate me. It is all a false play to divide us. I send my love to all and chant God Bless America. Don't be afraid. I promise you, you have nothing to fear from the right... don't listen to the media. PM me. Let’s talk."

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