The world is wide enough

I was lucky this week to see Hamilton for the 2nd time. I wasn’t a fan of it the 1st time, but the 2nd time, a part really stuck with me.

Near the end, Aaron Burr reflects on his relationship with Alexander Hamilton. Throughout his life, he voraciously disagreed with Hamilton. It led to their infamous duel - that led to the sad end to his former friend.

He laments in the song:

I should've known

I should’ve known the world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me.

A chilling, sad thought from two men who respected each other - until the very end.

It made me think: we need people who disagree with us. We need discourse from both ends of the room. It pushes our collective thinking even more than we can imagine.

This world is big enough for all of that.