While there are still no reports, as there have been in other communities, of Northeast Michiganders coming to fisticuffs over coronavirus restrictions or politics, we have noticed a tangible increase in tension.

There are the snarky comments at the grocery store, the accusatory letters to the editor, the outright vitriol on social media.

Being unkind does nothing to get us through these trying times. In fact, it only makes things more intolerable, more stressful, more outright depressing.

It’s important to remember that, no matter how you feel about pandemic-related shutdowns or restrictions on your social life or being forced to wear a mask, no matter which political aisle you walk down, we’re all going through this together.

All of us have felt the sting of the stifled economy, the stress of the shutdowns, the annoyance of breathing hot summer air through a face mask.

And a little kindness can go a long way to making all that easier to get through.

So we urge all of our readers to continue to be kind. Say nice words. Make a nice gesture. Be polite.

We will get through this.

Let’s make sure our neighborly bonds are intact when we make it to the other side.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)