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Wednesday, October 28, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or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
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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.