Can enemies be best friends?

I was moved to hear of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg's tribute for her friend and colleague Supreme Court Justice Scalia.  Part of that tribute included this line " 'We are different, we are one,' different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve."  Their lives together as friends is a model that shows how we can all work together, even with vastly different views.  And to go one step further, we can see that those who oppose us are sometimes those that force us to refine and strengthen what we believe. 

Mary Baker Eddy, reformer and founder of Christian Science, writes
'“Love thine enemies” is identical with “Thou hast no enemies.” Wherein is this conclusion relative to those who have hated thee without a cause? Simply, in that those unfortunate individuals are virtually thy best friends. Primarily and ultimately, they are doing thee good far beyond the present sense which thou canst entertain of good.' (from Miscellaneous Writings, p. 9:9)

Harmony does not always mean homogeneity.   Harmony means that there is a congruity in which we can value and love others on the highest level - a spiritual basis.

As you read this article about Scalia and Ginsburg, Ginsburg's tribute is full of appreciation for Scalia's intellect and wit, and devotion and allegiance to his work.  Their disagreements served to refine her arguments, further benefiting her office and interpretations of law. Their friendship went higher than their disagreements,  as they " bonded over their love for their country and their passion for the law."  (​To read the full article on Scalia and Ginsburg, click here.)

This made me think of how I have dealt with disagreements within family, work groups or politics.  Have I been able to see beyond the immediate clash, to value those with differing opinions and to see how those different views can challenge and change or strengthen my own understanding?

Can I see that we are all united by our love for the same thing?  We stand on a lot of territory that is common ground. Am I claiming that common ground enough so that we can all work together in ways that are progressively better?

Mary Baker Eddy writes about the impact of oneness.  But before I share that, consider the word "God".  Let's take from that word any sense of dogma, division and denomination.  Let's use that word as synonymous with Love, as it is done in the book of John when he writes "God is Love."

This opens the door on what is possible when we focus on our higher selves, the "better angels of our nature" as Lincoln coined that phrase.

Where it says "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations"  let's consider "One infinite Love unifies men and nations"  and then read on "... constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfills the Scripture, “Love thy neighbor as thyself;” annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed."  (See Science and Health p. 340:23-29)
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We can go so much farther by working together.  The Ginsburg/Scalia friendship certainly gives us hope for what we can all achieve with one another. As we are in full swing with the election season, this is the higher road and  hope we can all claim.