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Elgin pastor working on book decrying a 'polarized' America

Paris Donehoo's first post-retirement writing project is a book about the possibility of Americans getting along despite having opposing opinions in the age of Donald Trump, Resistance fighters, "fake news" accusations and confirmation media. And the way that book is coming together is a testimony to how that still can work.

Titled "Polarized: Confronting the Collapse of Truth, Civility, and Community in Divided Times," the book is almost finished and will hit bookstores this fall. Donehoo said it was born soon after the 2016 election during a meeting with the co-author, a man who has much in common with him yet many differences.

"Keith Parsons is my oldest friend. We met in the first grade," Donehoo said. "I became a Christian pastor. Keith became a professor of philosophy at the University of Houston and he is a card-carrying atheist. But in our basic values we have more in common than we do with some people who also call themselves Christian ministers and atheist professors.

"Every Christmas we return from our respective exiles in Texas and Illinois to visit our families in Georgia. Sometime during the week we get together for lunch. There is usually a lot of laughing. In fact, one year we even read aloud from 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish' like we had done as children.

"When we had our annual meeting during Christmas of 2016, however, we did not feel terribly mirthful. The recent election, as well as ominous societal trends, left us feeling unmoored and confused. I am not sure who said it first, but one of us said, 'Maybe we should write a book together.'

"The purpose of the work is not to demonstrate one view to be wrong and the other to be right, but to show how people of good will who hold differing perspectives can still collaborate for the common good."

The "Polarized" manuscript is almost finished and is due to the publisher, Prometheus Books, by July 1. But Donehoo expects writing more books to be a major thrust of his retirement.

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