The life and death of former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole at age 98 has given the people of this country an opportunity to look back to the days when compromise solved serious problems and political parties worked together for the good of the country.

Dole wrote an opinion piece earlier this year that was scheduled for publication after his death. It appeared in The Washington Post on Dec. 6.

“There has been a lot of talk about what it will take to heal our country,” Dole said. “We have heard many of our leaders profess ‘bipartisanship.’ But we must remember that bipartisanship is the minimum we should expect from ourselves.

“America has never achieved greatness when Republicans and Democrats simply manage to work together or tolerate each other. We have overcome our biggest challenges only when we focused on our shared values and experiences. These common ties form much stronger bonds than political parties.”

Dole said he was a good party man, “but I always served my country best when I did so first and foremost as an American.” He said he fought for veterans benefits “not as a Republican but as someone who witnessed the heroism of our service members firsthand.”

Actor Tom Hanks at a Friday tribute to Dole talked about his service in World War II when Dole suffered paralyzing, near-fatal wounds and lost the use of his right arm during an attack against Nazi German forces in Italy.

Dole in his opinion piece said, “I advocated for those with disabilities not as a member of the GOP but as someone who personally understood the limitations of a world without basic accommodations.”

He experienced the severe dust storms of the 1930s and said he “stood up for those going hungry not as a leader in my party but as someone who had seen too many folks sweat through a hard day’s work without being able to put dinner on the table.”

Like many others, Dole said he hoped this country would rediscover its greatness. “Together, we put an end to Nazi tyranny, planted our flag on the moon and tore down the Berlin Wall,” he said.

President Joe Biden at Dole’s service said of the former GOP Senate leader, “The courage, the grit, the goodness and the grace of 2^nd Lt. Bob Dole, who became Congressman Dole, Senator Dole, statesman, husband, father, friend, colleague — a word that’s often overused, but not here — a genuine hero.”

Biden said Dole was worried at the end of his life about American democracy being threatened by bitter political battles and had noted that infighting from both parties “grows more unacceptable day by day.”

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of Dole, “He served the Army. He served the state of Kansas. He served his political party. But, above all, he served his country and he served his fellow Americans. Bob Dole always put his country first.”

NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie said of the World War II Memorial, “He (Dole) came here looking for you, service member, caregiver, patriot. He came to grasp your hand and lock eyes to convey what could never be sufficiently captured with words alone.”

Dole’s daughter Robin said, “He was a giver, not a taker. He cared more about others than he did about himself.”

Rev. Randolph Hollerith said at the funeral service, “Though Sen. Dole has gone from us he is not lost. For now, it is enough to say on behalf of a grateful nation, well done, good and faithful servant. Well done.”

Many of us share the love of this country that Dole is talking about, but the current political divisions are tearing us apart. We seem to no longer be able to sit down with those who disagree with us and talk things out.

Unfortunately, the bitterness in Washington, D.C., has made its way to Louisiana. Our Republican-controlled Legislature seems to be in a never-ending war with Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.

The last words today belong to Dole, who said it best.

“When we prioritize principle over party and humanity over personal legacy, we accomplish far more as a nation. By leading with a shared faith in each other, we become America at its best: a beacon of hope, a source of comfort in crisis, a shield against those who threaten freedom….

“Our nation has certainly faced periods of division. But at the end of the day, we have always found ways to come together.

“We can find that unity again.”