Opinion
4A
Saturday, June 20, 2020
The Observer
MY VOICE
To be welcome in
this community,
you must obey the
authority of the law
’ll admit it. Years of driving past the Light-
house Pentecostal Church in Island City
several times a day and reading the quips
on their sign has occasionally given me the desire
to slip in under the cover of darkness and make
some witty alterations. I’m a big child, I know. Of
course I never considered actually doing it. Their
congregation had never done me any harm and
a petty act of mischief for my own amusement
would have been, well ... petty.
In light of recent
ROGER
events, I’ve begun
BARNES reconsidering my
LA GRANDE
restraint. Their inno-
cence of having injured
me is certainly no longer a consideration, and what
would previously have been petty now seems not
only justified but perhaps even a civic duty. I could
even argue it would be an act of religious freedom.
After all, my beliefs include doing unto others
as I would have done to me. If I ever commit an act
so egregiously selfish, reckless and consequential
as the Lighthouse leadership and congregation did
over and over again these past few months, I dearly
hope the community wouldn’t hesitate to lightly
trespass my property in order to both shame me
appropriately and give itself at least a small taste of
justice.
My beliefs also strongly value taking personal
responsibility for my actions. If I were to per-
form my little act of sign editorializing I wouldn’t
destroy any evidence, and if anyone asked I would
confess. I assumed the Lighthouse Church held this
value as well, as whoever conceals his transgres-
sions will not prosper, but he who confesses and
forsakes them will obtain mercy.
So now I wonder. Would I be prosecuted for my
minor crime? If so, would I be subject to the pen-
alties described by law? Would I be instructed
to apologize to those hurt by my actions? Under-
standing that being a member of a community
comes with the responsibility to abide by the rules
of that community, I would certainly expect to be
held accountable for breaking the law whether or
not I agree with that law. This concept is both foun-
dational to democracy and a recurrent lesson in
Western religions.
Lighthouse Church leaders and congregation
members: My 3-year-old son wasn’t allowed to play
with his friends for nearly three months. As a com-
munity, we had finally made it to the point where
he could. Every parent knows the pain we felt every
time he asked when he would finally be able to see
them and play more. Same for his grandparents.
Now my heart will break again every single day
when he pretends his friends have come to see him
and sets his toys out for them. You took this away
from him.
I am one of tens of thousands of people in this
community who each have made sacrifices and
endured hardships because of your actions. Perhaps
you did have a right of religious freedom to dis-
obey the law and gather in the numbers and fashion
you did, but you did not and do not have the right
to then participate in our community as if you were
abiding by the laws.
Accept responsibility for what you’ve done and
understand you will obey the authority of the law or
you will no longer be welcome in this community.
In the meantime, if you find your highway sign
has been “adjusted,” feel free to come ask if I’m
responsible. If it was me, I’ll proudly admit it.
I
About the Author:
Roger Barnes has lived and worked and sometimes
voiced his opinions in La Grande for 25 years. He wel-
comes your comments and criticisms.
Your views
Print news today is more
important than ever
If ever there were a time for an
independent, free press that informs
local citizenry about important and
relevant issues, it is now.
I am increasingly appreciative
of the reporting from The Observer
on topics ranging from out-of-
county county commissioner meet-
ings to coronavirus to public school
goings-on like finances and the
many challenges educators face.
Editor Phil Wright is ably carrying
the newspaper through its transition
from the prior publisher and writes
refreshingly honest and pertinent
editorials.
Although paper media are dying
a not-so-slow death, we should sup-
port them more than ever, especially
in these times of tremendous uncer-
tainty and increasing reliance on
social media for “facts.”
My parents set a wonderful
example for their children decades
ago, reading the regional paper reli-
giously every morning and the local
paper in the evenings. Talk around the
dinner table often included the news
of the day as reported in print. Thank
you for continuing to serve our com-
munity in this vital way (we have
been subscribers since moving here
30 years ago). I have “put my money
where my mouth is” by contributing
today to help keep the presses going.
Mary Rowland
La Grande
Pandemic and the Black
Lives Matter movement
are testing democracy
Blessings and thanks to all the
churches, businesses, social groups
and individuals who followed the
governor’s directives even when
Union Country felt so safe it was
hard not to feel smug. That safety
hung on our relative isolation,
which is exactly what the gover-
nor’s orders were meant to enforce.
Union County’s very concerted
effort and compliance almost
worked.
Most county churches did not
meet regardless of how parishio-
ners and church leaders felt. Only
Lighthouse Pentecostal Church felt
their religious freedom bestowed
divine immunity.
History graphically illustrates
that churches in particular must
watch their behavior toward those
outside their belief system. The
Crusades and early European set-
tlers committed atrocities on
non-Christians ostensibly in the
name of God. Contempt and disre-
gard for people of other faiths does
not constitute religious freedom.
Yet that is exactly what Lighthouse
Church showed to our diverse
community.
Trump and pastor Parker both
underplayed the virus, and their
followers not surprisingly fol-
lowed. Even our county commis-
sioners were sending mixed mes-
sages by not wearing face masks,
not enforcing distancing and crowd
size regulations at the church.
We don’t yet know how many
family members, friends and
neighbors have literally been dealt
a death blow.
Certainly some businesses
struggling to remain viable will
now be forced from the commu-
nity. Meanwhile the virus is alive
and spreading among us.
Many locals have high regard
for individualism and little regard
for government. But democracies
such as ours claim to have the cit-
izens most in mind. For a democ-
racy to work requires continual
pressure in that direction through
the voting process. I believe in the
democratic process. Under that
system fairness and justice should
be what laws provide.
Many of those demonstrating
for Black Lives Matter follow strict
safety distancing guidelines for
their own safety and the safety
of those they encounter. How-
ever, they put themselves at risk
to demonstrate support for long
overdue changes to America’s
policing and culture.
Demonstrations are critical to
democracy.
This pandemic and the Black
Lives Matter movement are testing
America’s democracy.
Mary McCracken
Island City
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Donald Trump: The White
House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1414; fax 202-
456-2461; to send comments, go to www.
whitehouse.gov/contact.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. office:
313 Hart Senate Office Building, U.S.
Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-
3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland office:
One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon
St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-
326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Pendleton
office: 310 S.E. Second St. Suite 105,
Pendleton 97801; 541-278-1129; merkley.
senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. office: 221
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washing-
ton, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-
228-2717. La Grande office: 105 Fir St., No.
210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-7691;
fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd District):
D.C. office: 2182 Rayburn Office Building,
Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730;
fax 202-225-5774. La Grande office: 1211
Washington Ave., La Grande, OR 97850;
541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.
house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State
Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111;
www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F.
Rosenblum: Justice Building, Salem, OR
97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
State Sen. William S. Hansell (29th
District/Athena): Salem office: 900 Court
St. NE., S-423, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-
1729. Website: www.oregonlegislature.gov/
hansell. Email: sen.billhansell@oregonleg-
islature. gov.
State Rep. Greg Barreto (58th
District/ Cove): Salem office: 900 Court
St. NE., H-384, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-
1458. Website: www.oregonlegislature.gov/
barreto. Email: rep.gregbarreto@oregon-
legislature.gov.
State Rep. Greg Smith (57th Dis-
trict): Salem office: 900 Court St. NE.,
H-482, Salem, OR, 97301; 503-986-1457.
Heppner office: P.O. Box 219, Heppner,
OR 97836; 541-676-5154; Website: www.
oregonlegislature.gov/smithg. Email: rep.
gregsmith@oregonlegislature.gov.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative docu-
ments and information are available online
at www.leg.state.or.us.
City of La Grande: Mayor Steve Clem-
ents, City Manager Robert Strope; P.O. Box
670, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-1309;
fax 541-963-3333.
Union County Commissioners: Don-
na Beverage, Matt Scarfo and Paul Anderes;
1106 K Ave., La Grande, OR 97850; 541-963-
1001; fax 541-963-1079.
Wallowa County Commissioners:
John Hillock,Todd Nash and Susan Roberts;
101 S. River St., Room 202, Enterprise, OR
97828; 541-426-4543, ext. 11; fax 541-426-
0582.