I’m struck, as I read news stories about immigration and abortion controversies, by some common threads. For both issues, solutions can begin to be found by addressing root causes rather than symptoms.

If the goal is to minimize the number of abortions, that calls for reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies — a goal that can be addressed with better, more widespread sex education and wider availability of birth control measures.

If the goal is to minimize the number of immigrants, that calls for improving conditions in the countries of origin so that people are not desperate to leave.

If both sides are being honest about the issues, then those kinds of solutions should provide starting points for compromise and for hope.

But these are not new solutions, and they have not yet been embraced by many who hold firm views against abortion or immigration. My conclusion is that, for these people, the real goals are driven by religious intolerance and racial animus, so there’s not much room for compromise there.

My other conclusion: Get out the vote.

Ira Krepchin

Brookline