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Wednesday, August 8, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I
N I
O
The 23rd Annual
Why do we do
what we do?
COUNTRY FAIR
& ART SHOW
By Michael Wells
Guest Columnist
Artists’ Reception
Fri., Aug. 10, 5 to 8 p.m.
Country Fair & Art Show
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Sat., Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
At The Episcopal Church of
the Transfiguration
Just west of Sisters on the McKenzie Highway
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writerʼs 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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 share Paula Surmann’s concerns about
climate change and the need to influence
Congress. Every year, the extreme heat,
weather disasters and fire disasters are get-
ting exponentially worse across the U.S. and
the world. Trying to talk to your Congressmen
about this is a lot like talking to your doctor
without an appointment and a four-week wait.
You cannot just call them up or send them an
email.
I don’t want to appear cynical, but do you
believe that these Congressmen actually read
your emails? I have sent Walden emails in the
past, requiring a response. I never heard back.
I even sent emails to Wyden and Merkeley.
No response, even from Democrats. I suspect
that even if a Walden staffer (if he has any)
read one of these emails from a progressive,
that they would be “black-listed” so that future
emails would not even be opened. It would
likely go immediately to the “round-file.”
I don’t believe that any of these
Congressmen can afford sufficient staff or
time to go through what must be hundreds or
even thousands of emails every day, particu-
larly during these unsettling political times.
They want to make a comfortable living as
public servants, after all. It’s not a fun job
much of the time, but can be rewarding.
It’s clear from the bills that Walden helped
to craft that he only cares about the big oil and
pharma business and his own job security,
instead of the planet or his Central Oregonian
constituents. I think the only tactic that will
work is to vote Walden out of office, assuming
that we have a reasonable opposing candidate.
It’s important that our Congressmen know
See LETTERS on page 28
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On the occasions when
I have contemplated what
motivates human behavior, I
have done so mostly within
the framework of “nature/
nurture.” Are we motivated
mostly by our genetics or
by how our life experiences
have formed us? Maybe
they interact. Science tells
us that certain environ-
mental factors may cause
mutations in our genes that
could be carried through to
our children. Maybe it’s not
either/or.
As a young man, I tried
to test the nature/nurture
paradigm when I visited my
absent father to see what
in him was common to me
without any influence of
“nurture.” (Yes, I realize that
it is anecdotal evidence.)
Aside from the expected
and obvious general physi-
cal similarities, I discovered
to my dismay that I shared
with him an unfortunate
propensity to use sarcasm
as a form of humor. This
is a trait that I have tried to
suppress much of my adult
life. On the other hand, we
can readily see the effects
on our behavior from our
upbringing, including the
influences of communities
of family, church, peers and
guidance from teachers and
mentors. But if we remain
intellectually curious, much
of this influence might be
transitory.
The nature/nurture
framework does not pro-
vide a full explanation
for our behavior. Much of
what I have seen recently
confirms that we are sub-
ject to what psychologists
call “motivated reason-
ing.” In shorthand, it is a
cognitive process that is
driven unconsciously by
our emotional framework
or what is termed “motiva-
tions” or “goals.” We accept
as valid only that which
we find emotionally sat-
isfying or at least neutral
(“confirmation bias”) and
reject immediately what, if
accepted, would cause us
anxiety (“identity protective
cognition”).
And of course, the way
we think affects what we do.
I suggest that this
explains why those who
call themselves “law-and-
order” people, who after
successfully lobbying for
mandatory minimum sen-
tencing laws (I had called it,
“another dumb idea whose
time has come”) don’t want
it applied to those who have
committed crimes but with
whom they share a com-
mon ideology or a feeling
of tribal identity. I believe it
applies to the publicly reli-
gious who lecture us that
“character matters,” except
regarding those public offi-
cials who do their bidding
on legislative and other
legal matters. I believe that
it explains the justification
from avowed Christians
for a governmental policy
that rips children from their
parents who have brought
them here in an attempt to
avoid violence in their own
country and cage those
children in places where
they are vulnerable to
predators.
I fear that we will also
see that same process at
work when some of my
fellow Americans who see
themselves as patriots will
seek to justify the Russian
interference in our 2016
election on the basis that
it at least prevented “that
woman” from becom-
ing president. And I don’t
doubt that many of those
same people will refuse
to acknowledge the evi-
dence when fully revealed,
that might show our cur-
rent president not only
was a beneficiary of that
interference, but a willing
participant.
I sincerely hope that my
essay will initiate a conver-
sation on these issues, but
I will ignore responses that
are essentially “But what
about…?” That is exactly
the same as the young child
who, when confronted with
his misbehavior, exclaims:
“But Johnny, did it first” in
the belief that it justifies or
excuses his bad behavior.
It doesn’t. It also doesn’t
excuse a refusal to examine
ones behavior where strong
feelings encase the thought
process.
Facts matter. Observing
them clearly is a predicate
to correct decision-making
and action.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.