To the editor:

Is anyone else tired of us talking at each other rather than with each other?

This is what one North Country young person wrote about that issue:

“A healthy, diverse community will have an important challenge: to find balance between quite varied viewpoints in a way that leaves everyone feeling heard and valued, even when they do not achieve complete satisfaction. Our country seems to be struggling with how to deal with this right now. If everyone is valued and feels heard, they will be more likely to accept a compromise.”

Now, might we keep this in mind in our own community interactions?

Stephanie Gubelin

Lake Placid

(This letter is one in a series sharing the thoughts of young people in the North Country. The quotes are from the essays submitted to the contest “My Dreams for My Community,” sponsored by the Community Engagement Project of Adirondack Voters for Change and the Adirondack Center for Writing.)