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.
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EUGENE WEEKLY APRIL 28, 2011 5