DomeLight by Jim Zachary

Politics is politics.

People are people.

Stacey Abrams is real people.

She is authentic, genuine, open and unrehearsed.

In fact, when all is said and done, she’s just Stacey — unassuming, unpretentious and pretty much unaffected by the national notoriety she has garnered over the past few years.

People who say they don’t like Abrams only see her through the prism of politics.

They don’t see her as a person.

It is likely people who think they don’t like her have never spoken to her, never listened to her or ever even met her.

You should not have to agree with her politics to see her as a person.

It is a shame we are all so politically polarized that we cannot see people for who they are if they do not agree with our political ideologies.

Abrams is more than a Democrat.

She is more than a candidate for governor.

She is more than an organizer and an advocate.

In fact, we are all more than our political party affiliations.

Or, at least we should be.

Because of how divisive politics has gotten over the past few years, we have forgotten that during her time in the state legislature, Abrams was known as a consensus builder who reached across the aisle and worked with both parties to pass common sense legislation.

Republicans, including former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, worked closely with Abrams on issues that benefited everyone, ensuring that students could continue to receive the HOPE scholarship and that families from all backgrounds could access universal pre-K.

Spending some one-on-one time with Abrams this past week was just about two people talking to one another — not at one another.

She talked more about people, about the needs of others, about faith and about humanity than she did about politics, which is rather remarkable given the fact that she is in the midst of a hotly contested campaign for the highest office in the state.

She talked about children, about schools in poor neighborhoods, about the challenges families face, about women struggling with difficult health care decisions, folks drowning in debt or facing skyrocketing medical bills.

She talked about church, about her parents, about family and about growing up in Mississippi.

She talked about values.

She talked about empathy, caring and service to others.

She talked about life.

People have said a lot of things about Stacey Abrams.

People have called her a lot of names.

Still, she isn’t angry.

She isn’t self righteous.

She isn’t bitter.

She’s just Stacey.

Jim Zachary is the editor of The Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.