I respectfully disagree with My Turn writer Timothy Flynn’s recommendation that Democrats “fight fire with fire” by aggressively pursuing gerrymandering in blue states [“Dems must fight fire with fire on redistricting,” Recorder, March 26]. I share his frustration with Republican gerrymandering, but you don’t fight anti-democratic forces by becoming more anti-democratic.

Fighting fire with fire may sound good, but in this case it just burns the house down, and where are we then?

The fact that Democrats and Republicans are deeply divided is a big problem, but a bigger problem is that a whole lot of people don’t like either one of them and have opted out of the system. Democrats playing dirty may bring short-term gains, but longer term it will just drive more people away.

A better strategy would be for Democrats to double down on democracy and fair play. Call out anyone, Republican or Democrat, who tries to rig the system or break the rules. Act like you believe that people deserve to have a voice, and elected leaders are public servants who need to listen to those voices.

Reasonable people disagree about what government should do and how much it should cost, so stop acting like there’s only one answer and the other side is always wrong. Work to find proposals that have broad support, and not just razor-thin majorities.

If that’s unrealistic, then I submit that democracy is unrealistic, but I’m not ready to accept that. I think that we can make it work if we try, and I think it’s our country’s only hope.

Mike Naughton

Millers Falls