Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2004)
TO THE EDITOR CULTIVATE LOVE Hold on to hope. As we witness chaos, in- surmountable pain, destruction and suffering erupt within us and around us, we must hold fast to hope and loving peacefulness. We ex- pand what we focus upon. Yesterday’s hurt is today’s understanding rewoven into tomor- row’s love — and out of chaos evolves the dance of balance. Cultivate love within yourselves and bring it forward. If anything will carry us for- ward in these times, it will be this. And re- member the wisdom of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thought- ful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” Onward in peace, Tiersa Turner Eugene TWO-ACRE ISLAND When I read Nancy Nichols letter (12/9) re- sponding to the 11/24 Viewpoint, “Gathering Space,” I felt compelled to respond. For 28 years my family has lived two blocks from Madison Meadow (not within the very limited area of homes which might gain in property value if this space is protected). We along with many other neighbors have enjoyed countless hours in this special place, watching seasons change and children grow up. We do have city parks nearby, which offer destination ballfields, playgrounds, Frisbee golf, basketball and tennis courts. These are all valuable recreation assets but not the same as an unmown meadow where a child can wade through tall wildflowers and spot a little snake or a butterfly. It may be hard for a Deadwood resident to grasp how precious this two-acre island of green has become to the hundreds of families who support saving Madison Meadow. A very few homeowners may see an increase in property value when the Meadow is pro- tected, but if our community balked at acquir- ing open space because of some incidental benefit to adjacent homes, then our public parkland would be sparse indeed. There is a reason that so many people have donated to save this hidden gem, and it’s not property values, but a community sense that we must hang on to at least a little of the last open land, for children and other small creatures. The Meadow provides many envi- ronmental benefits, including habitat for nearly 100 species of birds and other animals, improvement of air and water quality, and the potential for nature educational outreach. Our city is getting denser every year in our effort to maintain the urban growth boundary. At some point we need to realize that this growth requires a balance of green- space as well. I would like to invite EW read- ers to visit the Meadow at 22nd and Madison and see what we hope to save. There are so many worthy causes, social, political, and en- vironmental, that deserve our support, and Madison Meadow is one of them. Susan Jerde Eugene NO LOONY LIBERAL Please Christians, read the New Testament again, and stop trying so hard to interpret it. It is as clear as a bell. Jesus was not a loony liberal. He said do what I do and they will know you are Christian. When Jesus fed the poor, drove the moneychangers from the temple, walked with lepers, defended the harlot, and healed the sick, he was not prac- ticing wanton immoral liberalism. He did not mislead anyone into believing. He was just himself, honest and loving, take it or leave it. He was showing us how to live our lives as he did, honestly and lovingly. He exempli- fied the moral values which he lived and died for, yup, Christian values. Let’s keep an eye on these values during the next four years and see how many poor people are helped, how many sick people are able to get healthcare, how many hungry people are able to feed their families. You know, let’s look for and in- sist on that compassion as advertised. Take up thy cross and follow. Amen. Kathleen Rosa Eugene NO VOTE FOR JESUS I feel compelled to write in regard to the “Jesusland” map printed in the slant (11/11). Jesus did not stand for the political ideas of George W. Bush. Jesus was a revolutionary. He lived his beliefs of love, non-violence, faith, honesty, non-attachment, and accept- ance of all people despite military, govern- mental and public opposition. If we want to relate Bush to a biblical figure, he would be well represented by one of the money chang- ers having his table overthrown by Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem. He is a man shame- lessly selling violence, dishonesty, discrimi- nation, and environmental destruction in the guise of Christianity. All this in exchange for power, prestige and profit. A vote for Bush was not a vote for Jesus, but against him. Heather Ladd Eugene VOTING FOR WAR I’m 64 and I remember the Vietnam War very well. I was active in the antiwar move- ment of the late ’60s. The present war with Iraq is a bad time for us all, probably the worst since 1968. It won’t get any better, however, until we all stop lying to ourselves about what hap- pened in the recent election. John Kerry is a worthless war pig. He voted for the war; he said later that he would have voted for it even if he had known there were no weapons of mass destruction, and he said during the de- bates that he was determined to “win” the war. If Kerry had won the election we would still be in the same position as far as Iraq goes. The only power you have to stop a war, unless you’re willing to go to jail, is your vote. Most of you voted for Kerry, which means you also voted for the war. So now those in power have your permission to do whatever they want. What you could have done was withheld your vote from Kerry and sent a message that it is not acceptable for a Democrat to support this, or any other, war. You could have also supported Ralph Nader, who was the only serious peace candidate. There will be another election in two years. You need to be sending a message to all politicians that they will not have your vote in 2006 unless they vote against any more ap- propriations for the war, publicly oppose it, and introduce legislation to end it. Lynn Porter Eugene PERCEIVED ENEMY Many thanks to EW for the thoughtful ar- ticle, “Vietnam to Iraq” (11/24). I am looking forward to the sequels on the subject of anti- war activism. A suggestion for those who find it difficult to muster up the energy to join in creating real 4 DECEMBER 23, 2004 activism against the war on Iraq: Choose a quiet spot and while sitting still for several minutes, visualize an American soldier creep- ing around the corner of, let’s say, the ruins of a small house on an eerily quiet, dark lane in Fallujah. Suddenly the perceived enemy is upon him. He fires his rifle, killing the young man before him, or the girl, the woman, a child. Then imagine yourself, in turn, as sol- dier, young man, girl, woman, child — and WAKE UP! Kathleen Epstein Eugene SILVER LINING There are two great benefits to the Democrats from losing the presidential elec- tion. First, the war in Iraq is now solely on the backs of the Republicans — if pro-war Democrats like Kerry, Edwards, Liebermann and Gephardt can manage to keep their big fat mouths shut. Second, the Democrats now have a badly needed opportunity to look in the mirror and see what they’re doing wrong. In an article in Socialist Worker Online (socialistworker.org), Lance Selfa uses exit poll data to debunk the theory that Kerry lost because of “values.” “If you compare the composition of voters between this year and 2000, you find that the percentage of evangelical Christians re- mained the same; the percentage of people opposed to abortion remained the same; and the percentage of people who say they pray every day didn’t change either. Slightly more evangelicals voted for Bush in 2004 than in 2000, but there wasn’t a great surge of the re- ligious right to the polls — at least on a na- tionwide level.” Nor did Bush win because of a rural vs. urban split: “According to those [exit] polls, Bush actually lost a little ground in rural areas, compared to the 2000 election. But he polled a full 10 percentage points better in urban areas.” Kerry lost because he offered nothing real to his base and failed to energize it, while Bush fired up his base. The Democrats’main problem is that they’re owned by the rich people who fi- nance their campaigns. Their corporate spon- sors want a cheap labor policy in the U.S., with
