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Wednesday, November 30, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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What will resolve
our division?
ByKScottKMiller
Correspondent
Letters to the Editor…
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To the Editor:
In the November 23 Nugget, guest colum-
nist Terry Weygandt discusses a Facebook
posting on grieving; which I’m assuming
is about the presidential election results.
Weygandt blames Republican-leaning news
“controlling the narrative for 30 years” as the
reason for Trump’s win.
Really?! I think that an objective review of
ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, New York Times,
Huffington Post, The Cincinnati Enquirer,
The Dallas Morning News, The Houston
Chronicle, The L.A. Times, The Washington
Post, The Baltimore Sun, etc. coverage of the
election paint a much different view of who
was actually trying to control the narrative!
Weygandt then discusses the Benghazi
investigation. The fact is she lied, over and
over, causing it to drag out till the discov-
ery of her own email finally revealed what
difference it does make; SHE LIED. She also
lied to the families of those killed in Benghazi
as flag-draped coffins where being unloaded
from the aircraft returning home. You can’t
blame her own actions on Republican charac-
ter assassination; it was a revelation of her true
character.
As for the email discussion, I can only
surmise that Terry Weygandt never handled
classified material or would realize the extent
of corruption resulting in a “reprimand” for
Hillary that would have meant certain jail-
time for anyone else. And the FACT is she
lied over and over about that, too.
For Weygandt’s last argument, is it going
to be the “race card” or the “Nazi card”? Yep,
the Nazi card came out to explain why Hillary
lost the election, in spite of all the liberal news
See KLETTERSK on page 12
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There’s so much hostility
and injustice in this world.
It came to another head fol-
lowing the recent presidential
election, as protests turned
violent. Suspicion prolifer-
ates about our president-elect
and, arguably, our society
as a whole. I was probably
just as angry and anxious as
any average American, lead-
ing me to the common ques-
tion: What will resolve this
division?
Answer: Our leader would
have to die for us.
No, I’m not encouraging
assassination, but let’s face
it: it’s hard to believe that
any of our leaders genuinely
care about us. Politicians,
special-interest group heads,
and religious leaders grapple
for the microphone, seeking
to justify and sustain their
own positions, rather than
truly seeking the benefit of
everyone in our country. With
occasional exceptions, these
supposed leaders exploit
the divisive drama to foster
greater dependency on them-
selves by their constituents,
donors, and congregational
members.
The media, also, hap-
pily profit from the anger
and fear of one party feel-
ing victimized by another.
Their audiences go from fear
and anger to lengthening
moments of disgust and apa-
thy. Consequently, profiteer-
ing media compete to find
or create more sensational
drama; otherwise, they will
lose their viewership and
its dependency upon them.
Supposed leaders also must
stir still more negative emo-
tion, driven to maintain a
sense of urgency, lest their
sycophants and various stake-
holders move on to someone
else. And so on.
Something about one’s
death on behalf of others
breaks through all of this.
The value of a person giv-
ing his/her life for another,
or for a group of persons,
demands a certain reverence.
Disgust and apathy dissi-
pate. Suddenly, whatever that
person stated before death
becomes meaningful—even
compelling. Why? Because
to die for someone is an irre-
futable demonstration of love,
the absence of which seems
to drive so much of our hos-
tility and unrest.
The origin of our
condition, however, lies not
merely within or between us
humans. It resides within the
human heart — the deepest
parts of what we think and
feel about our origin, our
identity, and our purpose in
this universe — and it’s fun-
damentally flawed. That’s
why we will never eradicate
our divisiveness through
taxes, legal wrangling, or
utopic fantasies. We can try
to change our circumstances,
but that only goes so far in
resolving the condition of our
hearts.
The prevailing narratives
— at least those most often
supported through main-
stream media and public aca-
demia — say we originated
from some “big bang.” This
story makes humans the lucky
ones in the cosmic gene pool,
as we miraculously evolved
into our current state of being.
Our highest purpose from this
narrative might be construed
as a grand campout, as people
aspire to leave their campsites
better than they found them.
Another narrative persists,
though not immune to its own
distortions and disappoint-
ments. The most compel-
ling thread of this narrative
begins and ends in the same
utopia we all seem to long for
(Eden, Heaven), except God
fulfills the role of protagonist.
Humans, as the recipients of
God’s grace, find their iden-
tity in a special relationship
with this God, seeking to love
one another as he first loved
us.
This love was ultimately
demonstrated in the death
of God incarnate. He lived a
radical life of love and ser-
vice, and it was followed by
his willing death on behalf of
each of us. He provided the
ultimate solution to our injus-
tice and hostility. As the risen
Savior, he invites each of us
to accept his death to resolve
the guilt and shame that per-
petuates division and hostil-
ity. When we surrender our
futile attempts otherwise, and
submit to a life that loves and
honors Christ, these hearts of
ours begin to change.
This time of year natu-
rally fosters reflection upon
our narratives, individually
and corporately. Beyond the
romanticized Nativity scenes
and consumerism, maybe it’s
time to reconsider what we
really believe and why. For
me, however imperfectly,
I’ve chosen the path of love
and peace found in Christ.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.