What happened to the values and traits we teach our children? What happened to civil discourse, intelligent debate and discussion, understanding and respecting the points of view of others? 

From the videos I saw before and during the New London gubernatorial debate Sept. 12, which included shoving in the streets outside the Garde Arts Center, people’s behaviors were awful. If that was me, I would be embarrassed. Imagine your kids acting like that at school. Would you condone it? 

If this behavior predicts what to expect during this campaign, Connecticut is in for a divisive, angry, hateful time, like what we see on the national level. 

Try a little experiment. When discussing the topics with someone opposing your views, picture yourself talking to one of your young children. Give the same respect to the opposing view. Take the time to understand what they are saying. Ask the intelligent, probing questions. What taxes are we going to eliminate and how can we not replace them with other taxes? What services are we going to reduce to offset our high cost of living? How are we going to improve our infrastructure? 

Don’t waste time with angry rhetoric. Don’t shove people. Let’s fix these complex problems.

Allan Elms

Waterford