Earlier this week, my family and I got on our knees and prayed for a dear friend of mine who is undergoing kidney transplant surgery. We asked God to help our friend and his family through the surgery and through the recovery period to follow. This surgery is serious. Our prayers are serious. My concern for my friend is serious.
Our friendship is unusual to most people who follow politics, but it shouldn't be. My dear friend, Anthony Daniels, is the House Minority Leader, while I serve as the House Majority Leader. He leads the Democratic Party caucus while I serve the Republican Party caucus. We do not agree on most policy decisions. I would wager a guess that we have never cast a ballot for the same Presidential candidate. When it comes to politics, we could not be more different.
Our friendship is not built on politics. The foundation of our friendship is shared experiences of two men who believe that the Lord is our Savior. Two fathers who are trying their best to raise their children the right way and value our titles as "Dad" far more than our titles as elected officials.
We don't often agree on the particulars of policy, but that didn't stop us from forming a true friendship. We may disagree on left versus right party platforms, but we can set that aside to discuss a variety of other topics over a nice meal.
Our friendship does not make him less of a Democrat or me less of a Republican. Tonight, my friend is lying in a hospital bed with a new kidney. He has a family member who is lying in a hospital bed with one less kidney than they had this morning. Tonight, it doesn't matter who they voted for or what they think about the budget, and it shouldn't.
Anthony and I have been able to do what civil adults should do — form friendships not across party lines, but in spite of them. That is the way it should be. That is the way it should have always been. That is the way it should always be.
Scott Stadthagen serves as the Majority Leader of the 75-member Alabama House Republican Caucus and is the state representative for Alabama House District 9.
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