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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2011)
letters TO THE EDITOR at the site (especially in an economic downturn). Tax revenue is of utmost importance in order to maintain the quality of education and city services the citizens of Eugene have enjoyed over the years. The tax revenue and employment elements should carry elevated consideration in the selection process as they would benefi t both the school district and the city for years to come. Bruce Foster Eugene THANK THE WATER This past weekend Eugene was host to Agnes Baker-Pilgrim, affectionately known as Grandma Aggie. She is chairperson of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. Grandmother Aggie had a full sched- ule. She spoke twice at the “Water for Life, Not for Profi t” event on Friday, held a fi lm showing on Saturday and did a water cer- emony and book signing on Sunday. Her message was simple: Water is a sacred and essential resource that must always remain free for all humankind. Having gratitude for water as we interact with it on a daily basis can change our lives and our world. She underscored saying “thank you, water” when we drink, shower, water plants, mop, wash hands, clothes, dishes, etc. She reminded me that it’s important to be a voice for the “swimmers,” or fi sh, as they are an indicator of our health. She spoke on the necessity for all in the community to protect and love the rivers through our personal actions as well as our collective political voices and take steps to reduce industrial pollution. She spoke of dams as choking the river and collection basins for algae and eventually toxins such as mercury. She reminded the crowds that nothing is impossible, as today the Rogue River runs free after years of strong collective resistance to remove the three dams. Her impassioned pleas and heartfelt wisdom brought tears to many. All of us who attended were touched by her deep sincerity and positive vision. Let us take action on her words and welcome her back soon. Joshua Arthur Eugene YERTLE THE TURTLE While we squabble over modest tax proposals to fund education and give tax breaks to the rich and ultra-rich during a time of historic economic inequality, it would serve us well to take a look at a Dr. Seuss classic: Yertle the Turtle. King Yertle lived in, “A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat … there was plenty to eat. The turtles had everything turtles might need.” Yertle had a throne in the form of a stone, where he could see the entire pond. In Yertle’s mind, he ruled all he could see. Although he could see the whole pond, it wasn’t enough. Yertle began ordering the other turtles to stand on each other’s backs to form a bigger throne so he could see more and expand his kingdom. (Many conservative turtles actually cheered on Yertle and volunteered to be stacked.) Even as the turtles complained about their mounting pain and hunger, Yertle continued ordering more turtles to pile on. Turns out you can only stack so many turtles. Nobel laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz makes the same point: “The top one percent have the best houses, the best educations, the best doctors and the best lifestyles; but there is one thing that money doesn’t seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live. Throughout history, this is something that the top one percent eventually does learn. Too late.” Vote yes for schools on May 17! Joshua Welch Eugene Presented by Oregon Quarterly magazine with additional support from The Duck Store CAN’T WAIT FOR STATE The question for the voter is, do you support public schools? There are many things that are wrong with any tax but it boils down to deciding if public schools are important to our community. We You Are Invited to the 12th Annual Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest Reading WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 7:00 P.M. Gerlinger Alumni Lounge, University of Oregon Opening remarks by this year’s judge, Debra Gwartney, followed by contest winners reading their essays: Kim Cooper Findling | Dwight Holing | Heidi Shayla Michelle Crowson | Chloe Rambo | Isolde Raftery Free and open to the public. OregonQuarterly.com 895 E. 13TH • UODuckstore.com EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity. WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM EUGENE WEEKLY APRIL 28, 2011 5
