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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2020)
2 Wednesday, July 1, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Editorial… Living up to what we put on paper No words committed to paper have ever had greater impact than those we celebrate this Saturday, on Independence Day: <We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.= That radical clarion cry of the sovereign rights of the individual sounded the death knell for the rule of kings in the 19th Century and stood in defiance of totalitarian tyranny across the 20th Century. The fact that those words were written by a slaveholding Virginian, a man committed to the expansion of an <Empire of Liberty= across the continent (pushing aside, absorb- ing or destroying the indigenous inhabitants of that continent) reflects an ugly and brutal paradox that continues to haunt America. On April 3, 1968, just hours before his murder, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to a congregation in Memphis, Tennessee, in what has come to be called the <I9ve Been To The Mountaintop Speech.= Amid his elo- quent evocation of a vision of the Promised Land, earned in a toilsome climb up a steep and rugged slope, he made a simple plea: <All we say to America is, 8Be true to what you said on paper.9= King was speaking specifically of the guarantees of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America 4 but his words cut fundamentally down to the bedrock profession of the American faith: that all men are created equal. We must not forget that have come a long way toward fulfilling the promise of those words: A birthright that was, in 1776, con- fined to white men of property (almost exclu- sively Protestant Christian in creed) has been expanded 4 imperfectly, in fits and starts 4 to include women as well as men, people of all colors and creeds. While cultural fissures and wounds are deep and lasting, the United States is not the same nation it was even 50 years ago. Legally, culturally and economically we are a far more just and equitable place than we were on April 4, 1968, when King was slain. We remain an imperfect work-in-progress. We will probably always carry the burden of the twin original sins into which our nation was born; we cannot erase or elide a heri- tage of slavery and conquest that clashes so profoundly with our founding principles. But neither can we abase ourselves in expia- tion of those sins, not without destroying the civic faith that has allowed the United States of America 4 for all of its flaws 4 to be a beacon of liberty and opportunity in an often dark world for the past 244 years. Our task is not to fundamentally transform the United States of America. It is something far simpler, more profound 4 and more chal- lenging 4 than that: It is to be true to what we put down on paper. Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and phone number. Letters 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 10 a.m. Monday. To the Editor: Maybe you have read in some of my previ- ous Letters to the Editor and determined that I have considerable dislike for our two party system of government. I carry this aversion after years of wit- nessing the ineptness of our so called Congressional representatives and their inability to compromise on relevant issues. Congress needs to understand that no one side can possibly be 100 percent right on any issue. This is why race relations, immigration, gun control, police reform and so many other issues remain unresolved. See LETTERS on page 23 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Monday Sunday Sunny Sunny Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny Sunny 69/42 78/45 80/46 81/49 78/47 77/48 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Email: 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 Creative Director: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partner: Vicki Curlett N Facts matter By Quay Richerson Guest Columnist Like many, my heart is heavy as I watch our beloved America undergo a transition into a country with which I am not familiar. Simple pleasures such as Facebook, going to church, watching the news, weekly g ra n d p a /g ran d d au g h ter Sisters Bakery outings and poker with friends have become a thing of the past. Directed by local and state government orders, churches closed, non-essential busi- nesses shut down, schools closed, sporting events can- celed, grandparents sepa- rated from grandchildren, payments were made to individuals and businesses, $2,400-per-month incentives for not working, facemasks became a wardrobe acces- sory and healthy families self-quarantined. In addi- tion, cities have allowed rioting, burning, looting, murder, defunding of police departments and a complete occupation of a downtown area. What happened? Did we incur a nuclear attack, a for- eign invasion, or did some other threat occur that has never occurred in American history? No, it was a virus and a horrific incident of police brutality that led to an assault on our freedoms, liberties, and rights. As society analyzes our responses to the life-threat- ening virus, I9d like to share a personal account that has shaped my worldview. In 1941, my father was a poor, young, hillbilly from the boondocks of Missouri, who became the first in his fam- ily to leave the farm for col- lege. As an ambitious fresh- man on December 7, his future of hope and opportu- nity was suddenly shattered when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and threatened the freedoms and liberties which defined his country. He gathered his buddies and headed for the nearest recruitment center. Like mil- lions of other young men of his generation, my dad believed protecting freedom and liberty was worth the sacrifice of their own ambi- tions, and even their life. Although the virus and war are incomparable, the threat to our freedom and liberties is not, and it is dis- heartening how easily we have surrendered them. During a recent con- versation, my friend said that <For every 8fact9 there are 8facts9 to the contrary.= That led me to quote Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the late Democratic senator from New York, <Everyone is entitled to their own opin- ion, but not his own facts.= Andrew McCarthy of the National Review added, <Real progress is only possi- ble, and real cohesion is only stable, if a society can agree that there are objective facts, and that they can be gotten at through reason and com- mon sense. Only with that in place is it possible for us to work out our differences, or at least disagree in peace. You don9t get to have your own facts.= So let9s review some facts regarding issues of the past four months. COVID-19. USA has 128,000 deaths or .04 per- cent of the population (43 percent were in nursing homes, 94 percent had pre- existing health conditions). Oregon has 204 deaths or .0049 percent of the popula- tion. Deschutes County has zero deaths. In comparison, with less than half the cur- rent population, the 1957-58 Asian flu had 116,000 deaths and the 1968-69 Hong Kong flu had 100,000 deaths in the USA. No government man- dated lockdowns or shut- downs occurred. Police targeting Black men. According to the Washington Post, in 2019 there were 10 unarmed Black men killed by police. In six of those incidents, the officer was under physical assault by the victim. Of the 1,004 people killed by offi- cers, 236 were Black and 371 were white. In respect to all homicides, 93 percent of Black murders are commit- ted by Black people and 84 percent of white murders are committed by white people. Statistical facts are void of interpretation, ideology, and prejudices, yet they form the foundation from which we base our decisions and actions. My encourage- ment is that we all delve into the facts before we rush to the protest line. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper. Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May 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, $55; six months (or less), $30. First-class postage: one year, $95; six months, $65. Published Weekly. ©2020 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is pro- hibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. 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