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R.A.F.T. for America:
An Important Lesson About Bridging Our Differences

A group of about 30 Americans with diverse political leanings recently embarked on a rafting trip along a North Carolina river.

R.A.F.T. for America: An Important Lesson About Bridging Our Differences

A heavy morning mist was still wafting up from the river when CBS's advance team pulled into the parking lot at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Those of us on the R.A.F.T. (Reuniting Americans by Fostering Trust) for America team would soon be welcoming our invitees - unlikely red/blue pairs of politicians, community leaders, and lay people. CBS was there to see what would happen when these polar opposites were asked to engage with one another, on and off the river.

For example, North Carolina's Senator Thom Tillis (R) would be sharing a raft with the former mayor of Charlotte, Jennifer Roberts (D). In another raft, Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler (D) would be paired up with Lance Moseley (R), a conservative Trump supporter.

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The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself

"Stone of Hope" statue, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Sunday, January 19, 2014.

(Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s familiar words, inscribed on his monument in Washington, D.C., now raise the question: Is that true?

A moral universe must, by its very definition, span both space and time. Yet where is the justice for the thousands upon thousands of innocent lives lost over the past year — whether from violence between Ukraine and Russia, or toward Israelis or Palestinians, or in West Darfur? Where is the justice for the hundreds of thousands of “disappeared” in Mexico, Syria, Sri Lanka, and other parts of the world? Where is the justice for the billions of people today increasingly bearing the brunt of climate change, suffering from the longstanding polluting practices of other communities or other countries? Is the “arc” bending the wrong way?

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A Republic, if we can keep it

American Religious and Civil Rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968) addresses the crowd on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, Washington DC, August 28, 1963.

(Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

A Republic, if we can keep it

Part XXXIV: An Open Letter to President Trump from the American People

Dear President Trump,

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Finding meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding

A barn burning during a wildfire.

Getty Images//Photographer: David Odisho/Bloomberg

Finding meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding

The devastation caused by the recent fires in Los Angeles has been heartbreaking. The loss of life and property, and the grief that so many are experiencing, remind us of the vulnerability of everything in life.

Nothing is permanent. There are no guarantees for tomorrow. We are all so fragile and that fragility so often leads to breaking. And it hurts.

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