Ron Kind: “I truly hope that the spirit of Hershey is not gone already. Last weekend we had the second congressional bipartisan…”

“I truly hope that the spirit of Hershey is not gone already. Last weekend we had the second congressional bipartisan civility retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We tried, in short, to come together to find a way where we can still disagree on issues without being so disagreeable. I believe we made some progress last weekend. But to be on the safe side, we were honored to have with us Sir John Hume, the Nobel Peace prize winner of last year, due to his role in negotiating the peace agreement in Northern Ireland. We were hoping to get some wise words from him. I believe he delivered. He reminded us in attendance that, "Differences of opinion should not be viewed as a threat. The answer to difference is not to fight about it but to respect it, for the differences are the essence of humanity, because there are no two people in the world who are the same." As we begin debates that seriously affect the Nation and our future, such as Kosovo, such as the budget, I would hope and pray that we remember these wise words from Sir John Hume.”