DEAR ABBY: Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "People don't get along because they fear each other. People fear each other because they don't know each other. They don't know each other because they have not properly communicated with each other."
We must begin to communicate with each other. No matter how much it hurts or how bad it sounds, we must begin the dialogue of truth, facts, feelings, misunderstanding and understanding. The solutions to all our problems are found in us.
Now is the time to make the decisions necessary to bring about closure and healing. The survival of our nation depends on it. In our homes, at work, at school and in our everyday lives, we must be about destroying the hate that is destroying America. We can never heal the hurt and pain within our nation until we've healed the hurt and pain within ourselves. Removing racism and discrimination from our society must begin with one person at a time. It must start with me -- then with you. -- LARRY D. HARRIS, NORFOLK, VA.