Listening is an important attribute of maturity and compassion

Dear Editor:

I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to attend the recent community event in Walla Walla that enabled local speakers to share their feelings about living in a racist society and was utterly impressed by the manner in which both presenters and other attendees respectfully treated one another. My experience has stayed with me and I have built upon it with conversations, readings, and exposure to history via other media. The willingness and capacity to listen to anybody with a very different story to tell are important attributes of maturity and compassion. Learning requires listening a...