DEAR EDITOR:

On Sept. 17, 1937, 75 years after the Battle of Antietam, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke at a commemoration ceremony at that battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland. His speech ended with the following:

“In the presence of the spirits of those who fell on this field — Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers — we can believe that they rejoice with us in the unity of understanding which is so increasingly ours today. They urge us on in all we do to foster that unity in the spirit of tolerance, of willingness to help our neighbor, and of faith in the destiny of the United States.”

Although they say the movie “Civil War” is about journalism and is meant to spawn conversation — there is a chance it could be incendiary and set the nation back a la the COVID-19 debacle or worse. On the other hand, maybe it will serve as an antidote for such desolation. If this movie is about starting a conversation about the state of our nation, then let’s do that and without the current balderdash. Begin with looking up President Roosevelt’s speech. It even addresses “the lesser passions of revenge and tyranny,” something we hear about frequently almost 100 years later.

KIM R. KOTHEIMER

Poland