Can We Work It Out?

There’s a lot of turmoil in the country right now. Large groups of Americans are at odds over seemingly everything. We can’t agree on politics. We can’t agree on the direction of the economy. We can’t agree on social issues. We can’t even agree on what we disagree on. Sigh.

There are good reasons for this divide, but we aren’t going to use this space to get into that hornet’s nest. Instead, we want to take a time out, and remind everyone that we are all just human beings. We are flawed. We are imperfect. We make mistakes. It’s not easy being human.

It takes a lot of courage to open your heart and talk to people you may not agree with; to treat them like fellow human beings, instead of as the “other.” Today’s clip reflects that challenge. We chose The Beatles’ We Can Work It Out, because A, We love The Beatles and will use any excuse to use them in our column, and B, it’s a song that is lyrically more complicated than you might think. Ultimately, we like to think the song is optimistic about people learning to cooperate and put aside their differences. Enjoy the clip.