I was driving with my two young sons in their carseats. I pulled up to a stopsign where a father and his daughter were about to enter the crosswalk in front of me. She was sitting on her bicycle seat and walking the bike across. I smiled at them. (Melancholy hits me sometimes knowing I'll never have a daughter.) I waved them across. The other father smiled back and waved.

Because I have kids, I know firsthand what it is like to walk a child across a street. All the things you have to watch for and worry about.

Do people without kids cherish life, respect life, understand as much about the miracle that is life, as much as people with kids? If you have always wanted to be a parent and cried with joy when that kid finally came into your life, and have devoted endless hours to their health and safety, do you care more about life in general?

More to my point: Do women contemplating abortion for convenience's sake realize that this kid will give them untold greater understanding of the wonder and beauty of life if they simply let it come into their lives?

Closed minds and disrespect for those with differing opinions is what divides people; nothing else, not race, class, or any other superficial dividing line.

When someone says to you, during a discussion, that "we simply should agree to disagree," they are actually saying that they can't rebut what you just said but they're not going to concede the point either. They can't admit to themselves that you're right, they don't respect a differing opinion, and they can't accept that they're wrong. That would require re-thinking their entire world view.

If you suggest to someone agreeing to disagree, look inside yourself.