Last Saturday night, Yuti and I had the privilege of attending the 40th anniversary celebration of The Echo.
The trip down memory lane, the incredible music, Mandy as MC, and The Echo Awards – a wonderful celebration of commitment, courage, caring and community in this beautiful region.
Among The Echo award recipients was Chris Hanley, whose contribution to this region through his real estate and philanthropic work spans nearly four decades as well.
In accepting his award, Chris said something that has stayed with me. He said it twice, so I know he meant it: that there have been times he has disagreed with The Echo – but that this has never stopped him from advertising with them, and it never will.
I found myself asking: what exactly was Chris saying? Here is what I heard.
He was saying that a local newspaper worth its name is not a publication you only support when you agree with it. It is a publication you support precisely because it holds the space in which disagreement is possible – where different voices, different perspectives, and yes, sometimes uncomfortable stories, can be heard.
The value of The Echo is not that it always gets it right. The value is that it keeps asking.
I heard this sentiment echoed across all the acceptance speeches of the other recipients.
A young man named Noah Eckstein stood before Harvard University’s graduating class last month and said something that has since echoed around the world.
He spoke of his two grandfathers – one a Pakistani Muslim who grew up in the middle of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the other, a Jewish refugee of the Holocaust – who met many times over the course of their lives.
As Eckstein told it: As you might imagine, they disagreed on a great many things. And yet, one of the main memories I have of them growing up was seeing them sitting together at a coffee table, discussing everything under the sun.
There are many differences they never resolved. But still, they acknowledged each other, they cared for each other, they stayed in contact, and they debated with each other. Their vast disparity in life experience, viewpoints, ideology, faith and beliefs – a point of contention, yes, but not a point of division.
Eckstein’s conclusion was this: the counter to division isn’t necessarily agreement, it’s understanding. Peace through understanding can survive conflict, while peace through agreement lasts only as long as everyone keeps agreeing. And his one simple practice for a divided world: Whenever you meet someone you disagree with, state your case, yes. Stand up for what you believe in, absolutely. But also, ask the other person about their beliefs. Ask them how they got there. Place yourself in their shoes and ask, ‘Why do I believe this?’
Listen like you might be wrong. That it’s not a weakness or betrayal of your own ideals. That it’s the hardest and most important thing you can do in a world that is constantly telling you, ‘pick a side.’
Chris Hanley has been living that principle quietly for nearly 40 years. He has disagreed with The Echo and kept advertising.
That is not contradiction. That is exactly what it looks like when a person chooses understanding over agreement – when someone decides that a community conversation is worth sustaining even when it doesn’t always go the way you’d like.
In a time when the reflex is to lash out or disengage from anything that doesn’t reflect our own views back to us, that kind of sustained commitment is both rare and precious.
The Echo Awards reminded me of why this region is worth fighting for.
And Chris Hanley’s quietly spoken observation – said twice – reminded me of what it actually takes to hold a community together.
Thank you to The Echo for the evening, and for four decades of keeping the conversation alive.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
