Welcome to Denison Forum's Daily Article podcast for Thursday, February the 26th, 20206. I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's daily article written by published author and philosopher, Dr. Jim Denison.

Commentators are still responding to President Trump's State of the Union address in the predictably partisan ways you would expect.

Reactions have been from such polar opposites that an uninformed observer could question whether they are responding to the same speech.

I genuinely grieve to see the depth of rancor and bitterness that exists in our country toward fellow Americans with whom we happen to disagree politically.

And I genuinely question whether our democratic experiment can be sustained while we sustain such animosity toward one another.

In 1774, John Wesley advised those who would be voting in an upcoming

election, one, to vote without fee or reward for the person they judged most worthy, two, to speak

no evil of the person they voted against, and three, to take care of their spirits were not

sharpened against those that voted

on the other side.

End quote.

Don't you wish more Americans would take his advice?

To encourage us toward this end, I'd like to reflect with you on a recent interview that

has marked me in profound ways.

As you may know, the former U.S. Senator and college president, Dr. Ben Sass,

recently announced that he is dying of pancreatic cancer. In a podcast he taped with Peter Robinson

of the Hoover Institution, it is clear that Dr. Sass is suffering. Tumors have filled his spine

and torso. He is on heavy medications to manage his

pain and hopefully extend his life. Nonetheless, his reflections on life and what matters most

are both brilliant and wise. I urge you to watch the entire conversation. A link to it is in

today's podcast episode notes. For our purposes today,

I'll focus on the interviewer's question as to whether Ben's decade devoted to politics was

...