Your call to end the hate and violence and come together (Jan. 15 editorial “We must stop this now”) spoke to me. I wholeheartedly agree. We would do well to remember our common values of love of country, acceptance and compassion, tolerance and trust, freedom and justice for all. They are fundamental to who we are.

Power and corruption, discrimination and hate, and meanness of spirit, take our focus away from our identity.

Your editorial reminded me of John McCain, who walked the walk of American values. In his farewell address he emphasized unity:

“We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

“We are 325 million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that, and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.”

Amen to that. I agree with these American values and the values expressed in your editorial. Thanks for keeping us focused on the heart of America.

Joe Fioretti

Auburn, Wash.