2
Wednesday, May 30, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I
N I
O
N
Words matter
By Jared Richerson
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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:
In your May 9 edition you featured an
article titled “Advocating for those with
Parkinson’s Disease,” written by Jane Miller.
Hers is a story I have often heard, although
as Ms. Miller states, everyone’s journey with
Parkinson’s is different.
I was diagnosed 10 years ago at age 57. I
can identify with almost everything Ms. Miller
mentions in her article. I finally decided to try
a relatively new treatment for Parkinson’s last
year. DBS or Deep Brain Stimulation surgery
was performed on my brain (after 3 years of
considering the pros and cons). It has been a
real positive change for me. It doesn’t mean
I am cured, it just means I am able to handle
some tasks of daily living easier, thus improv-
ing my quality of life for the immediate future.
I would like to thank Jane Miller for her
advocacy for those of us challenged with PD,
their caregivers and families. I would also like
any of your readers who have family or friends
with Parkinson’s in the Sisters area to join us
on June 12 at 1 p.m. for a Parkinson’s Support
Group or PWP’s (People with Parkinson’s)
titled “Parkinson’s Conversations.” We are
meeting the 2nd Tuesday of each month at
Suttle Tea at 450 W. Cascade Ave. (near the
library). We are a peer-led support group ready
to listen and learn about your journey through
PD while sharing coping skills and friendship.
We are part of Parkinson’s Resources of
Oregon and there is no charge to attend. You
can contact myself, Lenetta Colbert, at 907-
687-8101 or our program coordinator for
Central Oregon, Carol, at 541-668-6599 for
more information.
Lenetta Colbert
See LETTERS on page 23
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Mostly Sunny
Partly Cloudy
Sunny
Sunny
Mostly Sunny
Partly Cloudy
68/43
61/37
72/42
79/44
71/40
68/40
The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
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.
Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius
Production Manager: Leith Easterling
Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken
Graphic Design: Jess Draper
Community Marketing Partners:
Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett
Accounting: Erin Bordonaro
Proofreader: Pete Rathbun
Owner: J. Louis Mullen
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. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. 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.
Editor ’s note: Jared
Richerson’s essay was
awarded third place in The
Bulletin’s 2018 Newspapers
i n E d u c a t i o n “ Wo rd s
Matter” contest in the
high school category. The
essay is reprinted here with
Richerson’s permission.
When the founding
fathers convened in the
summer of 1787 there were
many ideas that were put
together in order to create
the Constitution that would
ultimately govern us for the
foreseeable future. One of
the most important ideas
turned out to be the prin-
ciple of free speech because
it allows citizens to critique
and judge our government’s
actions without penalty. As
Theodore Roosevelt once
said, “To announce that
there must be no criticism of
the President, or that we are
to stand by the President,
right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile,
but is morally treasonable
to the American public.”
While extremely important,
this freedom would also
turn out to be increasingly
controversial.
Over time, free speech
has created many issues that
have led to changes in our
government. This is because
the idea of free speech var-
ies between people. To me,
free speech is the idea that
we have the ability to say
whatever we want as long
as it isn’t directly threaten-
ing or dangerous to another
person. I agree that there
should be limits, but those
limits shouldn’t be based
on what’s offensive or not
offensive, rather what is
dangerous or threatening.
Free speech is such a
valuable resource that we
often take for granted in our
lives. The ability to speak
our minds over our opin-
ions, politics, and beliefs is
a very unique freedom that
many countries lack. While
this freedom is extremely
important it is also very
controversial. Allowing
people to speak completely
different opinions and views
often leads to conflict in
which one group or person
tries to get the other’s free-
dom of speech revoked.
This is seen with groups
such as the neo-Nazis and
the Antifa movement. Both
groups hold radical ideas
and often speak with hateful
intent yet they both try to
limit each other’s freedoms.
While what both groups say
can be extremely offensive,
they have the constitutional
right to do so. This is why
free speech is conflicting,
because by allowing one
statement to be said allows
statements of the opposite
nature to be said as well.
While free speech in and
of itself is controversial,
limiting free speech brings
conflict as well. Many court
cases have been fought over
what should be allowed and
denied. One such case was
Tinker V. Des Moines in
which several teens in Iowa
decided to wear armbands
in protest of the Vietnam
war. The principal then sus-
pended the children on the
basis that because while
they were in the school their
constitutional freedoms
were to be determined by the
school itself. The students
and their parents then sued
the school district, which
brought it to the Supreme
Court. The Court ruled on
a 7-2 majority that students
do not lose their constitu-
tional rights to speech upon
entering school property,
and to penalize the students
the teachers have to prove
that the conduct in ques-
tion would “materially and
substantially interfere” with
the operation of the school.
This was a landmark case
for the U.S. as it showed
that just because something
said or done is controver-
sial, does not mean that it’s
unconstitutional.
In conclusion, while
freedom of speech is
extremely tendentious it is
also one of the most impor-
tant freedoms we have in
the United States. Being
allowed to speak our minds
and hold our own opinions
is the first step in stabiliz-
ing a government. With no
verbal resistance, a govern-
ment can decimate a popu-
lation and take control with
ease. We’ve seen it happen
multiple times throughout
history such as during the
Holocaust in Germany or
currently the North Korean
regime. While this freedom
leads to conflict it is nearly
impossible to limit as it dis-
criminates against different
people and their freedoms.
So, to avoid conflict we
must find a way to speak
our minds while having
empathy for others.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.