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2 Wednesday, September 2, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Editorial… Looking back on ‘The Good War’ The Second World War officially ended 70 years ago today, on September 2, 1945, as representatives of Imperial Japan signed the instrument of surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo harbor. The surrender brought a final end to a cata- clysmic conflict. Americans sometimes refer to World War II as “The Good War.” And in the sense that we were fighting the good fight against mani- festly tyrannical and brutal regimes, it was a “good war.” No one could seriously argue that the world would be a better place living under the bootheel of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan. The remaining veterans who did their bit to defeat those regimes and bring the war to a clear-cut, victorious conclusion are well- deserving of every honor on this day. We salute them. But it does them and history a disservice to bathe the Second World War in a nostalgic glow. It was a terrible, savage convulsion that has left moral scars on humanity that cannot be erased. To defeat the dark powers of the Axis, the West allied with the Soviet Union — a regime equally or still more brutal than the enemies we fought. At the expense of some 20 million dead, the USSR emerged from the conflict as a world power, and the nations under its sway passed not from slavery to freedom but from slavery to another form of slavery. And the war opened the road to power for the Chinese Communists under Mao Tse Tung, who estab- lished one of the most brutal and bloodthirsty dictatorships in human history. And the U.S. and Britain acted with extraor- dinary brutality in this all-out war. Our forces rained fire and terror from the skies upon civil- ian populations in both Germany and Japan with the express purpose of terrorizing their populations into giving up the struggle. This is not to draw a moral equivalence between the firebombing of Tokyo and the Rape of Nanking or the Nazi death camps. The Third Reich and Imperial Japan called the dance, and the popu- lations that supported those regimes, or simply acquiesced as they were led down a slippery path to hell, had to pay the price. Such is the cruel calculus of total war. The U.S. and its allies won the war — clearly and definitively. We won it at the cost of blood and treasure and terrible acts that, no matter how necessary they seemed in the throes of combat, we cannot afford to repeat — including the dropping of two atomic bombs. The kind of absolute, clear-cut victory achieved in the Second World War has proved elusive in subsequent conflicts, in part because we are not willing to exert the extreme brutal force required to utterly destroy an enemy. Nor are we willing to sacrifice our own troops on a massive scale in order to conquer. Oh, we have fought plenty of wars and inflicted plenty of damage — but even at their most intense, no post-World War II conflict has approached the scale and the utter brutality of that struggle. For some, the elusiveness of conclusive out- comes is frustrating, even a sign of weakness. Look at it another way. Look at the post- war hesitancy to engage in total war as a moral victory for the men and women who served honorably in the “good war” with the determi- nation to push back the darkness and leave the world a better place. Jim Cornelius, Editor Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily 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: I thought it was the trucking industry that was pushing for this circle instead of a signal; now they will only agree if there is “a truck bypass lane?” So exactly who is it that wants this ODOT boondoggle? What a joke. See LeTTeRS on page 18 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Slt. chance showers Mostly sunny 64/36 63/33 Friday Saturday Sunday Chance t-storms Slt. chance showers Sunny 62/37 64/36 71/34 Monday Sunny 76/na N Sisters needs roundabout conversation By kathryn B. campbell Guest Columnist “So what do you all think about the roundabout proposal?” It wasn’t exactly an inno- cent question, I admit. With eight dinner-guests, some who were meeting others for the first time, I thought it would be a great ice-breaker. As a good hostess, I had done my own research on the Highway 20/Barclay round- about, and of course, had come to some tentative con- clusions myself. I was anx- ious to test them. Our guests were quick to respond: “It’s a done deal — what’s there to think about?” asked the Cynical One. “Why can’t we have the stoplight back?” asked the Plaintive One. “What’s the point if it doesn’t fix the Locust end of town, too?” asked the Practical One. “I love roundabouts,” said the Well-Traveled One. “Actually,” said I, in full hostess mode, “I think there is still a lot to think about. It’s not a done deal, and ODOT wants our input. Let me show you what I’ve found out.” We gathered around my laptop to take a look at ODOT’s concept drawing. Then we looked at the acci- dent statistics for the last 10 years, which I had requested from ODOT. And then we talked. And talked. Here’s what struck me about that summer evening on the deck: Our guests — generally well-informed, active community members — simply didn’t know there was more information to be had. These folks are active in quilting circles; they are churchgoers and newspa- per readers, both retired and employed; they are hikers, artists and builders; and they are dedicated volunteers with Circle of Friends, Habitat for Humanity, our local schools and other organizations. Despite ODOT’s outreach efforts and The Nugget’s coverage of the roundabout proposal, our guests were unaware that the design is not settled, unaware of the small number of accidents at this intersection, and unaware of the large truck bypass lanes that would accommo- date oversized loads. That made me wonder if the larger community has really had a chance to consider all the facets of the project. As reported by The Nug- get on August 25, an inter- governmental agreement is likely to be signed soon, out- lining the City/State partner- ship for the project. But that doesn’t mean it’s a “done deal.” So here are some con- versation starters: • Why is a roundabout the best year-round solution for managing traffic at this intersection? • Will the roundabout prompt a similar solution for the east end of town? • Is the truck bypass a negotiable condition of the roundabout? What will it look like when gated and locked? • Does the accident rate (no fatalities and three seri- ous injury accidents in 10 years) justify the project? • How will lighting and landscaping be handled? Whether we identify with the plaintive or the practi- cal, the cynical or the sym- pathetic, we can all learn a little bit more about this pro- posal. The best decision will be the one embraced by our neighbors in full recognition of its potential as well as its pitfalls, its compromises and its sacrifices. My conclusion? Let’s get the conversation started — and then get on with dessert. More information on the US20@Barclay Roundabout project is readily available at bit.ly/US20roundabout. 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, $40; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. 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Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.