Here's the text of my letter published today in the Winston-Salem Journal:

A higher common ground

Cal Thomas in his Feb. 10 column “Christian film gets shabby treatment in Hollywood”
noted that the film “Alone Yet Not Alone” gives a “message about God not abandoning people in distress.” He continues, “Does the secular left fear such a film might lead some people to rely on a power higher than the federal government?”

The Feb. 9 Moral March on Raleigh brought together what USA Today estimated as 80,000 to 100,000 people. While there, I saw thousands of clergy and congregants from across the religious spectrum, secular and religious humanists, and social action group members who, because of their faiths, want our state government to not abandon people in distress.

Where Cal Thomas sees division, I see a higher common ground arising from the moral imperatives reflected by religious teachings and by political and economic philosophies. Do we not agree that society should enable all people to maximize their inherent potential while providing a safety net for those in distress? By agreeing on the moral imperatives, we can come together to find solutions based not on ideology or party, but on what works in practice. As a mediator, I have witnessed how agreeing on goals instead of wrangling over methods often leads to better, previously unthought-of solutions.

JOHN K. MOTSINGER SR., Walkertown