Use words to bring us together

When they were younger, I read to my children every night. Quite often, I was pleasantly surprised at the messages underlying the most simplistic of these tales, noting how, in many ways, these stories had shaped my own world view when I was a child.

I was reminded of that recently when thinking about the condition of our country. Our president-elect is referred to as the leader of the 'Divided States of America.” Our electoral maps are an angry clash of deep reds and blues. The discourse - when not focused on shaming and belittling those who disagree with us - is centered on our differences, and the surprise most feel when they realize how stark and entrenched those differences are.

Casting about for a lens through which to see all of this more clearly, I thought recently of the children's story of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse. In the version I read to my kids, the Country Mouse invited his friend, City Mouse, to visit. They had a fine meal, but City Mouse was bored. He invited Country Mouse to visit him in the city. There, he showed off the big home where he lived and the fancy cakes on which he dined. Then, a cat attacked, sending the two mice scrambling for a hole in the wall. To City Mouse, this opulence was worth the price. Country Mouse, however, was horrified. He liked his home, simple though it may be, and quickly returned.

While it may seem silly to equate our current state of affairs with a children's story, I do so for two reasons. The first is that, while simple, it seems to be as good an explanation as any of our country's divide. Trade 'Country” for 'Red State,” 'City” for 'Blue State,” 'fancy cakes” for 'transgender-friendly bathrooms,” and we're suddenly waist-deep in most postelection analysis.

The other reason I share this is because it is was story that helped me to frame this issue, and it wasn't a dauntingly thick non-fiction look at the history of rural life, or a dense novel, though I have turned to both and been rewarded in these trying times. No, it was a simple story, one that has been told in one form or another for centuries.

Today, City Mouse and Country Mouse seem to hear about one another through 24-hour cable news or partisan websites, rarely actually meeting or conversing. In the absence of such face-to-face encounters - something we need to work on as well - perhaps it will be stories, poems, essays, novels and all other forms of literature that will help us to bridge our gaps, to find common ground and a better understanding of where and why we disagree.

Here in the City of Literature, storytellers abound. In 2017, I would like to challenge them, as I will myself, to use those skills to seek a deeper understanding of our neighbors, to better explain the challenges that face us all. Be it a simple fable or sociological doorstop or something in between, let us come together one word at a time.

John Kenyon is executive director of the City of Literature. More information: www.iowacityofliterature.org