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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2018)
Wednesday, May 2, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon LETTERS Continued from page 8 blight on our society to an end in a reasonable manner. Please understand that I am not anti-gun. I rather like guns. I was raised in eastern Montana, where a Saturday-night date might mean spotlighting jackrabbits on the frozen countryside, and selling them for mink food. Very romantic! We all hunted. I had pistols, shotguns, and long guns. However, when five grandkids came along, Janet and I decided to remove them from our home, in order to prevent even the slightest chance of an accident. From my viewpoint, amidst this great clamor, wailing and pontification on both sides of the gun-rights fence, the one thing that is glaringly missing is COMPROMISE. Most folks don’t care to compromise, they like to WIN! However, the sign of a good compromise is that while neither side totally likes it, both accept it. It is a bal- ance. Our American system is built on this dialectic balance of the (liberty) of the indi- vidual, and the well-being of the masses (justice). The compromise that I have in mind is one that allows private ownership of assault weapons, to be housed only at gun clubs. Owners could then check them out and fire them only on club property. Weapons would then be checked back in upon exiting the facility. Now I know that it is a real kick to blast, blast, blast away on some summer eve- ning. It is truly fun! But, does that fun for the individual outweigh the rest of the pop- ulation’s right to live? Our school kids are answering that question loud and clear! This may be an idea whose time has come. At least it’s a place to start a necessary conversation. Assault-weapon advocates will bemoan it as Catchin’ bugs... an infringement and others will complain that it is not enough. That may make this compro- mise just right ... liberty and justice. Steve Mathews, Ed.D Janet Mathews, Ph.D s s 11 s To the Editor: After reading the Davis and Scofield let- ters in the April 18 Nugget in regards to a column by Craig Rullman, and detecting a bit of collaboration on the part of the letter authors if not directly at least in content, I was compelled to find and read the Rullman piece “The Stormy Daniels Upper,” The Bunkhouse Chronicle, The Nugget, April 11, page 13. I was astonished in that I did not find the raving, “divisive,” rambling account as described. What I did find was a humorous and somewhat cynical social commentary. It was a serious commentary conveyed through humor and wild hyperbole. The underly- ing observations are accurate but perhaps lost on the authors who do not recognize what our civilization has become beyond the unrelenting division between blue and red. And by the way, total diversity is total absence of unity. We need more of the latter. But divisive? Banning guns is a divisive issue. One is either for it or against it. Mr. Rullman clearly took a stand against it and should not be banished for that. The authors are really making a not-so-subtle plea to Mr. Rullman’s employer to fire him for his beliefs. This is another all-too-common failure of our intolerant society. Taking a stand is not a problem. What is See LETTERS on page 27 PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS The Forest Service is surveying the presence and impact of red turpentine beetles in burned forest near Sisters. Offering Aveda ™ Skin & Body Care! hair | massage | nails facials | makeup 541-549-1784 161-C N. Elm St.
