Quick fixes won't close Great Divide

Maybe Salt Lake City would be a better place if more of us stopped trying to change the other guy — since doing so says even more about what we don't like about ourselves.

Some people keep saying our city is divided. Some actually want to save us from the big elephant on the block — "the Mormons." I guess I'm glad such folks weren't around when I was growing up on the city's west side.

As a first generation Mexican and Catholic, I was painfully aware of the differences that existed in our city. I lived in an old railroad car but attended Riverside Elementary with Mormon kids who lived in "real homes," took vacations and had newspapers and radios.

I had none of the above.

Though we had our differences and fought occasionally on the school grounds, we hung out together and managed to respect each other's religion. While my Mormon friends went to the ward, I went to the Guadalupe mission but played both CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) and Senior Scout basketball at Judge Memorial and also at the Pioneer Stake Center. I went to road shows and weekly movies at the ward. While they went to Mutual, I went to Catechism.

At home, I was taught by my parents' example to give to others, don't make fun of people, respect authority, always keep your word, believe in God and family and be proud of who you are.

Today, we continue talking about the Great Divide; that we must go through some cathartic healing process to close it. We are a society of quick fixes and the "issue of the day." There are those who look for a "silver bullet" cure such as well-intentioned unity groups that pick and choose when to make a press release or hold a black tie event, then go on with their separate lives.

Religious tolerance is not an intellectual exercise. It's an emotional journey to be lived and modeled, as did our parents who practiced what they preached.

There are no quick fixes.

Let us simply go about our lives respecting each other as we learned from our parents, and the institutions that helped create the common values so necessary to tie a community together: family, schools and religions. Let's not insist on coming together for staged gatherings; rather let us lead our own lives while respecting and accepting each other for who we are.

Rather than building upon our fears and anxieties, let us begin by calling upon the goodness and kindness in each of us.

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A Utah native, John Florez has founded several Hispanic civil rights organizations; been on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch, served on more than 45 state, local and volunteer boards; and filled White House appointments, including deputy assistant secretary of labor and as a member of the commission on Hispanic education. E-mail: jdflorez@comcast.net