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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2020)
Opinion 4A Tuesday, July 28, 2020 My Voice Forgiveness is not forgetting “Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is freedom from hate.” — Valarie Kaur hold no hate for the Lighthouse Church, nor any of its congregation. I suppose that means I’ve forgiven them for their recent illegal, unethical, misguided, and egregiously harmful actions. Yet I’ve not forgotten. As I’ve made clear a few times now, a simple apology would go far in allowing the community and myself to forget yet no such repen- tance has ROGER been forth- BARNES coming. LA GRANDE Regardless, these ques- tions of forgiving and forgetting are a personal matter that exists only in one’s heart and mind. Conversely, our justice system operates without regard for the concept of forgiveness. When a law is broken, the consequences for this action are clearly prescribed and the idea that no man nor entity is above the law is foundational to our nation. This principle is not subject to questions of whether or not someone believes in the partic- ular law or doesn’t support the lawmakers who enacted it, nor does a history of good deeds pre- clude someone from being held responsible for their acts. No one yet has satisfactorily explained to me how these principles shouldn’t hold true in this case. The church leadership knew they were breaking the law, as evidenced by their invoking a statement from the president that churches should be deemed “essential.” They were contacted at least twice by law enforcement and agreed to cease the activities, yet they simply continued and apparently even escalated these activities. While at the time the church seemed to proudly display these actions on social media, once the community was made aware of the transgressions these videos were promptly deleted never to resurface. The eager willingness of some to characterize this series of events as a “mistake” betrays a bias that I and many others in the community are quite uncomfortable with. Do those advocating for leni- ency in this case feel the same towards anyone accused of any crime, or is this reserved only for a certain class of the community? Perhaps I’m just not informed of daily appearances in the local courthouse where these same folks plea the court for forgiveness of defendants facing judgment for their actions. It’s possible I’m just not aware of a universally applied legal theory where we don’t prosecute crimes that happened “in the past.” If there is indeed an informal statute of limita- tions for prosecutions granted on the basis of prior good deeds, I and many others would like to be informed. You know, just in case. My objections notwithstanding, it’s become clear there is not much likelihood we will see any charges fi led in this case. Too much time has now passed, and I’ve also been made aware of a few procedural challenges within the system, which have stood in the way. I would like to thank La Grande Chief of Police Gary Bell and Union County District Attorney Kelsie McDaniel for their candid conversations and their patience with my rhetoric. I sincerely hope this event is the only occasion I will have to argue this subject in the pages of this fi ne publication or anywhere else, as this will show we as a community have fi nally understood that facts and laws are immutable in the face of selfi sh opinions. I About the Author Roger Barnes has lived and worked and some- times voiced his opinions in La Grande for 25 years. He welcomes your comments and criticisms. Write to us The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters are limited to 400 words and must be signed and carry the author’s address and phone number (for verifi cation purposes only). Email your let- ters to news@lagrandeobserver.com or mail them to the address below. Letters Any intelligent person would obey governor’s order How many lives have been put at risk because a few (as quoted by The Observer) have not adhered to the gover- nor’s executive order? Whether you agree or disagree, the fact remains there have been more than three months of advertising a policy of “stay at home … wear a protective face covering,” so any intelligent persons have been notifi ed as to why: It is to protect others. Now some have thrown caution to the wind and a larger number of our caregivers, doctors, nurses are COVID-19 carriers. I live at Grande Ronde Retirement Residence and am at an age that I must rely on the many caregivers who are willing to take a chance to care for us while they expose themselves, for a small fee that does not come close to compensating for illness or life. No one would want to take responsibility for having to share the blame for this unfortunate part of life. It’s time to listen, and obey. Marie Lester Former Union County Commissioner La Grande Letter: Done with academic mud wrestling Regarding Lyle Swartz’s letter published in the July 21 issue of The Observer, I was quite disappointed when Dr. Swartz attempted to impugn my character. I’ve known Professor Swartz for years. I was impressed with his expertise in the visual and performing arts, and I cannot recall him ever posting an unethical comment like Dr. Tom Herrmann did. I’m sorry he thinks my comment was a confusing “stew,” which is how many folks misspell my name by accident. My name is spelled Stuart, so his use of “stew” was a cheap shot. It’s not surprising that Dr. Swartz was confused as I doubt he has any sophistication in the subject of physics, which was the topic of my letter criticizing Dr. Herrmann’s opinion piece. Unfortunately, it is common for a conserva- tive ideologue to come to the defense of another ideologue without understanding why the other is being criticized. Had Professor Swartz understood the scientifi c meaning of “tautology and specious data,” he would not have attempted to impugn my character. The fact that he found Dr. Badgley, Dr. Stephas and Dr. Gilbert friendly does not mean those physicists would have jumped into the academic mud wrestling with Dr. Herrmann. This is my last comment on the matter, as another tactic of conservative ideologues is to attempt to distract their nemeses from continuing with deleterious comments, and I’m not playing that game with them any longer. Professor Swartz should watch out for conservative economists, both right and left, as they’re coming after his PERS as we speak. Stuart Croghan La Grande 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. offi ce: 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224- 3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland offi ce: One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503- 326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Pendleton offi ce: 310 S.E. Second St. Suite 105, Pendleton 97801; 541-278-1129; merkley. senate.gov. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. offi ce: 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Building, Washing- ton, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202- 228-2717. La Grande offi ce: 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. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. La Grande offi ce: 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 State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.treasurer@ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97301-3896; 503-378-4000. Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum: Justice Building, Salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400. State Sen. William S. Hansell (29th District/Athena): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. NE., S-423, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1729. Website: www.oregonleg- islature.gov/ hansell. Email: sen.billhan- sell@oregonlegislature. gov. State Rep. Greg Barreto (58th District/ Cove): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. NE., H-384, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986- 1458. Website: www.oregonlegislature. gov/barreto. Email: rep.gregbarreto@ oregonlegislature.gov. State Rep. Greg Smith (57th Dis- trict): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. NE., H-482, Salem, OR, 97301; 503-986-1457. Heppner offi ce: P.O. Box 219, Heppner, OR 97836; 541-676-5154; Website: www. oregonlegislature.gov/smithg. Email: rep. gregsmith@oregonlegislature.gov.
