Eugene weekly., October 06, 2005, Page 8, Image 8

TO THE EDITOR
called to account. What a great day for our
experiment in democracy.
Gerry Merritt
Eugene
HAMMER WORK
I’m 50, I grew up to the sound of Peter,
Paul and Mary singing, “If I had a hammer.”
In wartime, the only good a hammer could
do is to hobble a soldier. My son is 19. At
some point, mothers lose influential control
of their sons.
On my son’s third birthday, I made us
both a promise: If he was ever drafted or se-
duced into the Fraternal Brotherhood of
War, I’d “Narc” him up the yin-yang and
smash one of his ankles with a sledge ham-
mer, rendering him “4-F,” unfit for service.
It’s biblical. Better to lose a foot than to
have your whole body cast into hell — the
hell of war. My son will never participate in
war as long as I’m alive.
“Mothers with Hammers,” make it a
dot.com. I don’t have the money. If I go to
jail, big deal.
Lori Kasprzak
Eugene
HEE-HAW CAPITAL
I decided long ago that Republicans, the
big, gnarly, one-dimensional and stupefy-
ingly dull lot of them, were liars. And liars
without recourse to conscience. I decided
then, long ago, to change my mind only
when I could encounter one Republican
who could pass this litmus test, encountered
as an offhand remark by the great English
writer Bertrand Russell, but given here as an
objective proof. To paraphrase Russell: The
only reason people think criminals are stu-
pid is because it is only the stupid criminals
who are caught.
Thus I’m reading with great satisfaction
since once again, the proof is made that Tom
DeLay is indicted for conspiracy, but I await
with bated breath for the proof to be made
twice, as I see Missouri Rep. Paul Blunt,
who is replacing DeLay as House leader
even as the smoke roils from his own dank
basement, is also about to run into his own
dancing shadow as did Hammerin’ Tom.
Blunt is from a town in Missouri called
Branson. I spent my high school years just
miles from that town. If there has ever been
an area more full of fulsome self-praise for
its confounding ignorance, bigotry, racism,
sheer and unadulterated heee-haw! hick-
manship, smothered in simmering globs of
unleavened stupidity, it is Branson.
Thus it’s new incarnation as the home
cum museum of The Lawrence Welk Show
and the Yakov Smirnoff Theatre, among
others. Johnny Cash got out early. Paul
Blunt stayed. I hope Johnny is having a big
laugh, too. This is American theater at its
unvarnished best.
Tom Erwin
Eugene
BY SYLVIE PEDERSON
World’s Greatest?
A little modesty and perspective, please.
E
ugene is now officially “The World’s Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors.”
On Sept. 12, at the request of several arts and outdoors resident supporters, the
Eugene City Council unanimously adopted as official motto of our city the slo-
gan initially proposed a year ago by Robb Hankins, Eugene’s cultural services director.
Hankins, who starts this October on a new job in Ohio, arrived in Eugene in
December 2003. As he set about to assess the city’s strengths, he quickly singled out
two of its prominent assets: an extraordinary artistic activity and beautiful outdoors. It
was his stroke of genius to pair them to provide Eugene with a defining identity.
Because it is simply true that Eugene stands out for its vitality in the performance
and visual arts, and because it is indeed blessed with a lovely environment allowing for
many varied outdoor activities, Hankins’ campaign for Eugene to both view and repre-
sent itself as “the world’s greatest city for the arts and outdoors” has resonated with
many people.
Communities, like people, sometimes require external affirmation to become aware
and to come to believe in their own intrinsic value. So it was perhaps best that
Hankins, holding such a validating mirror for us to view ourselves in, formulated his
slogan in grandiose terms to jolt the city officials into better recognizing Eugene’s
combination of strengths.
Yet once our collective awareness has been achieved, this superlative formulation
may work against us. It may make us sound a little … well … unsophisticated.
Because, whether accurate or not, the slogan sounds like an overstatement, those
who do not know Eugene may well snort in derision or think it a joke, especially when
it is misquoted as “greatest city of the arts and outdoors,” as opposed to “for.”
We all have seen such self-aggrandizing ads on road sides, proclaiming that theirs
is the greatest attraction in the world and we know exactly what to expect. Something
mediocre or rather schlocky; these over-the-top superlatives suggest there is little
behind the boast.
So let us mature in our estimation of ourselves and grow in our self-confidence. We
are truly a great city for the arts and the outdoors. When we feel strong enough about
our identity and worth, we can leave the rest of the world out of it and call ourselves,
firmly and simply: “Eugene, City for the Arts and Outdoors.”
Because we are. And we may feel great pride and pleasure in this. We are lucky
indeed, and should continue to work hard to make our community ever more a city for
the arts and outdoors.
Sylvie Pedersen is a Eugene free-lance arts writer.
8 OCTOBER 6, 2005