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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
2 Wednesday, August 29, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N No political pep rally By Chris Morin Guest Columnist 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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: Regarding Letter #2 in the August 22 issue: By the time I’d finished the second paragraph I knew I was reading a letter from Susan Prince. Her words, pregnant with meaning, are always true, researched, and thought through. Here she even provides a solution! Sisters might have the world’s biggest out- door quilt show and the greatest little rodeo, but it simply will not do for the protectors of our forests to move too slow. Anita Kirkaldy s s s To the Editor: I agree with Susan Prince’s letter last week about putting more restrictions on open fires in forest lands, even in campgrounds. I, too, have witnessed giant bonfires at Three Creek Campground, the top of the flames licking at the tall tree branches and firebrands blowing off the fire. Really scary. There is no reason for these, not even when the weather conditions indicate low fire danger. She points out that humans are at the root of many of the big wildfires. The statistics that I am aware of show that at least 85 percent of the wildfires in California and 75 percent of the wildfires in Oregon are caused by humans, usually campfires. Because of the devastation of the wildfires of the last few years, the unhealthy smoke that we all have to breath for months and the fact that they are more prevalent, getting larger and more intense every year, the Forest Service MUST adopt new regulations. No open campfires should be allowed at any time of the year in the National Forest or BLM lands unless specifically approved by the authorities. Fires should only be allowed in designated containers in campgrounds and should be closely monitored by the camp host. Fireworks should be banned year-round, too. Since most people and politicians are not See LETTERS on page 18 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Mostly sunny Sunny 84/44 76/42 73/41 77/41 74/41 75/na 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. Jim Cornelius wrote about “political correctness” in an opinion piece last week. And within that, he discussed taking a course in college regarding Native American History while at UC-Santa Cruz. Given that my wife and I own the only brick-and-mortar Native American Art Gallery in Oregon, I feel compelled to offer a follow-up letter to Jim’s piece. Jim stated that he did not agree with the ideological thrust, presented within this particular history class, that Native Americans were “victims,” and white settlers were “oppressors.” Back then, he vocalized his disagreement and was strongly scorned by members of the student body for disagreeing as he did. Jim used this as an example when “political correctness” was applied against him. I agree with him on one matter, the larger issue he raises, while disagreeing with his position on the matter he used as an example. The matter of the conquest of the Western Hemisphere, over a period of 400 years beginning in 1492, and the interactions with and the treatment of the Indigenous Peoples is poorly stated if referred to as oppressors and victims. Having lived beside and worked among various Native American peoples for 30 years, my wife 50 years, and being two courses short of an undergraduate major in Native American Studies from the University of Alaska, I feel fairly qualified to say that these two terms grossly understate what occurred to Native Americans during this period of time and contact with Western World peoples. That debate, however, if it even needs to occur, can be done in private. To me, it is two individuals seeing things differently, no more. Neither Jim’s view nor my view is going to alter what occurred nor will our views affect what is today. J i m ’s discussion about the term “political correctness,” however, is something I do fully embrace and agree with. This term, as others — FAKE NEWS, Elitist, Redneck — offers a shallow and lazy approach to discourse. That discourse has at its foundation the high school pep rally mentality: My team (or position) is great, your team (or position) sucks. This immature approach to rhetoric readily succeeds with the use of labels. Positions and “reasoning” becomes concerned not with truly developing and considering other perspectives but with justifying the application of a label(s). Strangely, each side can then take the same label, i.e. political correctness, and hurl it at the “other side,” in an attempt to justify a position. The actual, intended issue in a discourse can be subsumed as the debate becomes concerned with defending labels or attacking them. Although a lifelong Democrat, rather than defend “our guy,” Bill Clinton, during the 1998-99 impeachment proceedings, I quite vocally advocated for him to be found guilty by the Senate and removed from office. I found Obama so overwhelmingly dissatisfying that I have not voted since ’08. My dear older brother John, a conservative of equal conviction, found George W. Bush to be a huge disappointment and Trump to be absolutely “wretched.” We’re not pep-rally guys, probably an important reason why our relationship has remained so strong through the years, despite taking different paths in life. Self-examination and self-criticism, along with discourse that involves full consideration of others’ ideas and how opposing perspectives and beliefs to our own came to be, are things that the Founding Fathers also hoped our society would embrace. The First Amendment stands as the shining example of that intent. Jim played guitar and sang at our gallery during the July 4th Friday Art Stroll. Near the end of his performance, I asked and he promised, that the next time he plays he’ll include “I Shall Be Released.” Some things just aren’t coincidences. Chris Morin is co-owner of Raven Makes Gallery in Sisters. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
