In February 2017, Hillary Clinton wrote me a letter. She apologized for her “delayed acknowledgement” but wanted to thank me for a piece I’d posted on my website in August 2016, titled An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton. In the piece, I pleaded with her to not sink to Donald Trump’s level of insult and taunt, to instead remain “impenetrably calm” in the face of whatever he threw at her.  I asked that she show that she could “responsibly lead our fractured country into more peaceful times.”

She quoted some of my phrases, said, “I was proud of my performance in the debates,” and closed her letter by saying, “I am committed to keep doing my part to build a better, stronger, and fairer future for our country and for our world.”

Dear Hillary, attacking Bernie Sanders, saying that no one likes him and no one wants to work with him, is not helping the future of our country or, in fact, the world. Also, in the passages from your recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, you seem to be denigrating his supporters, essentially calling them gullible. This is reminiscent of your memorable statement in 2016, that Trump supporters were a “basket of deplorables.”

I remember my exact thoughts when I heard Hillary Clinton’s comment about the “deplorables.” I thought, She is a very smart woman. This is what her very smart brain came up with, and then her very smart brain said it was a good idea to say this publicly? To say it was worrisome is a vast understatement.

America is a bitterly, often violently, divided country right now. What each of us says and does matters more than it ever has. For those who have a public presence, and therefore a bigger microphone, the burden is greater. While it’s true that supporters of Bernie Sanders helped to reinforce divisions in the Democratic Party in 2016, and withheld support from Hillary, continuing the bitterness, cementing the divide, is hardly the right path at this time. And while it’s understandable that Hillary Clinton is still angry that she won the popular vote but wasn’t elected because Donald Trump won the Electoral vote, we have a country to save. Old anger, stale bitterness can be worked out in private, not on the public stage.

Please Hillary, take a step back – away from your bitterness. Think of this country, that I know you love, and how horribly wounded we are right now by the wide lines of division drawn with blood and rage. We can’t go on like this, and we can’t heal if people with microphones as big as yours won’t help us.