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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2015)
2 Wednesday, October 28, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Daylight Savings Time Ends... Turn your clocks back one hour on Saturday night, 10/31/15 Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not neces- sarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: The “off-leash” dog story, October 21, prompted me to respond. Recently, a friend and I enjoyed the Harvest Faire, walking up and down, viewing the many excellent exhib- its. That is, until two canines, leashed, began a not-so-friendly barking, snarling session with one another. Then, along comes a gentleman parading, again leashed, three greyhounds. And so on... This begs the question: Why do people have to bring their dogs with them to attend events, walk the streets, shop in the stores, and in general be in places where only people should be? Another hazard, my friend was nearly tripped when one dog owner had to maneuver the dog leash around a second leash. If dogs were left at home, gnawing a bone or sleeping, downtown shopping and events would be much more enjoyable. Oh yes, I’ve owned many dogs in my lifetime. Duane C. Anderson Tualatin, Oregon s s s To the Editor: Ten years in the making! Finally! Our hopes for affordable housing for Sisters resi- dents —100 new homes!!! So, within two we will have eight new affordable houses; 25 total, to include townhouses and cottages listed in the high $200,000. See LETTERS on page 20 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday monday Rain Chance showers Chance showers Partly sunny Showers Mostly cloudy 53/34 57/31 56/38 60/35 48/30 45/na The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson News Editor: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Williver Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Advertising: Lisa Buckley Graphic Design: Jess Draper Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Accounting: Erin Bordonaro The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2014 The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. N Robert B. Reich American Voices Among the current crop of candidates for president of the United States, who exhib- its leadership? Leadership isn’t just the ability to attract followers. Otherwise some of the worst tyrants in history would be considered great leaders. They weren’t leaders; they were demagogues. A leader brings out the best in his followers. A dem- agogue brings out the worst. Leaders inspire tolerance. Demagogues incite hate. Leaders empower the powerless; they give them voice and respect. Dema- gogues scapegoat the power- less; they use scapegoating as a means to fortify their power. Leaders calm peoples’ irrational fears. Demagogues exploit them. My list of great Ameri- can leaders would include Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Franklin D. Roos- evelt, Frances Perkins and Martin Luther King Jr. In his second inaugural address near the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln urged his followers to act “with malice toward none, with charity for all.” In his first inaugural at the depths of the Great Depres- sion, Franklin D. Roosevelt told Americans “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreason- ing, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts.” In 1963, as African-Amer- icans demanded their civil rights, Martin Luther King Jr. urged his followers “not to seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” My list of American dem- agogues would include Sen. “Pitchfork” Benjamin Till- man of South Carolina who supported lynch mobs in the 1890s; Father Charles Cough- lin whose anti-Semitic radio rants in the 1930s praised Nazi Germany; Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin who conducted the communist witch hunts of the 1950s; and Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace the staunch defender of segregation. These men inspired the worst in their followers. They scapegoated the weak and set Americans against each other. They used fear to stoke hate and entrench their power. Back to the current crop of presidential candidates: Who are the leaders, and who are the demagogues? The leaders have sought to build bridges with those holding different views. Rand Paul spoke at the University of California, Berkeley, for example, seek- ing common ground with the university’s mostly progres- sive students. Bernie Sanders traveled to Liberty University, where most students and faculty disagree with his positions on gay marriage and abortion. “I came here today,” he said, “because I believe from the bottom of my heart that it is vitally important for those of us who hold different views to be able to engage in a civil discourse.” Other candidates, by contrast, have fueled divi- sion. Ben Carson has argued that Muslims should not be allowed to become president. D o n a l d Tr u m p h a s charged that Mexican immi- grants are “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” After one of his followers charged at a New Hampshire town hall event that Muslims “have training camps grow- ing where they want to kill us,” and asked Trump “when can we get rid of them?” Trump didn’t demur. He said, “A lot of people are saying that,” and, “We’re going to be looking at that.” Nor has Trump inspired the best in his followers. At one recent rally, after Trump denigrated undocu- mented workers, his support- ers reportedly shoved and spit on immigrant activists who had shown up to pro- test. At other Trump rallies, his followers have shouted at Latino U.S. citizens to “go home” and yelled “if it ain’t white, it ain’t right.” Trump followers have reportedly told immigrant activists to “clean my hotel room, bitch.” America is the only democracy in the world where anyone can declare himself or herself a candidate for the presidency — and, armed with enough money, possibly even win. Which makes it all the more important that we distinguish leaders from demagogues. The former ennoble our society. The latter degrade and endanger it — even if they lose. © 2015 By Robert Reich Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.