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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 2016)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM When there’s no money Several years ago this space called for the Keizer City Council to consider what the city would lose if the Herber property (infor- mally called ‘the cow pas- ture’) was rezoned and that acreage was lost to devel- opment. A 112-unit apart- ment complex is proposed for that property. We haven’t changed our minds, but reality has set in. There is no public money avail- able to purchase that land and add it to Claggett Creek Park which sits west of the bluff and the creek itself. There is no public money to maintain another sizable park—we can’t keep up with the 19 parks already in the system. The city council voted at this week’s meeting to move ahead by di- recting city staff to write an ordinance for rezoning of the property. That unanimous decision will not sit well with the opponents of the planned apartment development. Over 100 Keizerites testifi ed at a public hearing in June 2014, most who spoke then were against the apartments and spoke passionately about the green space, the cows the property’s owners keep on the land and the two-story house that dates back to the 19th century. The comments on the Keizertimes Facebook page about Monday’s vote were almost solidly against the coun- cil’s vote. There is no doubt the ‘cow pasture’ issue is the hot topic in town. But the council’s action on Monday has a caveat: the developers must allow up to 18 months for a party to come forward and relocate the house. Any interested party has a six month time line to express interest and then an- other twelve months to complete any move. Costs for such a move includes not only the expensive move but also a place to move it to. To some the structure is just an old house that has seen better days; to oth- ers it is a part of Keizer’s early history. But the house is the least of the argu- ments against any development there. Most opposed cite increased traffi c and impact on local schools. Experts have testifi ed that the area streets (in- cluding the new round- about at Chemawa Road and Verda Lane) can handle the increased traffi c counts. Offi cials from the Salem- Keizer School District say the impact on the closest schools will be minimal. Keizer’s Department of Community Development and the city council had no wiggle room on the issue—they all had to address the proposed zoning chang- es based on current codes and laws. Council Kim Freeman stated at Mon- day’s session, “I can’t fi nd fault” with the proposal after thanking the people who spoke about the issue over the past two years. Some express the view that the council and city is driven by a desire for more tax revenue the development would produce. Some express views that the city is in the pockets of spe- cial moneyed interests. Those are views that are not borne out by the history of decisions the city and the council have made, though the sentiment is not hard to understand. Keizer residents elect city coun- cilors to do the public business of the people. The many citizens who have served as a city councilor over the past 33 years have taken their duties seriously and rely on the city staff to present clear options on any topic that comes up. This council is following the rules our society has agreed to live under. The seven people currently serving do not want to tread on the rights of pri- vate property owners to do with their land as they see fi t. It is government staying off the back of its citizens. There is no money to buy the land for a park. There is no money to add amenities or maintain a park that size. The best option for those who don’t want an apartment complex on that property and keep a green space with cows is to buy it themselves. Unless proponents of a green space have a few spare million dollars to purchase the land, it will have to defer to its elected representatives. —LAZ The parade mural is done the paint team; both are also Keizer Public Art Commission members. The method and sys- tem setup were superb. There was little waste at the end of each day, both disposable and recyclable. The system to replicate the mixed color was very effective. Thank you. The young painters at the end and the hands below may be from future artists of Keizer. There are mural canvases left for sale. Again, thank you KAA and its members and all those that helped create the community mural. Thank you Keizer Art Asso- ciation, Keizertimes and the city of Keizer for making announcements concerning the Keizer Community Mural. Jill Hagen Mural Project Coordinator editorial letters To the Editor: Keizer’s fi rst commu- nity mural is complete. It is a beautiful piece of art for the city of Keizer to enjoy for many years to come. Keizer Art Association and its members greatly contributed to its completion. Several members need atten- tion: Kathy Haney, Nancy Erick- son-Ward, Barbara Hunter, Shirlee Johnson, Wendy Lusby, Pat Mat- thews, Michelle DePlois, Merri Ann Randal, Lorna Sulgit, Brigette Miller, Kathe Anderson, Julie Thors- en, Jessi Long and so many others. The portraits are beautiful and greatly appreciated. The por- trait class offered by Kathy Haney helped make the portraits possible. Jessi Long and Beth Melendy, were Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com SUBSCRIPTIONS NEWS EDITOR Eric A. Howald editor@keizertimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Derek Wiley news@keizertimes.com One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY ADVERTISING Publication No: USPS 679-430 Paula Moseley advertising@keizertimes.com POSTMASTER Send address changes to: PRODUCTION MANAGER Andrew Jackson Keizertimes Circulation graphics@keizertimes.com 142 Chemawa Road N. LEGAL NOTICES Keizer, OR 97303 legals@keizertimes.com Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com BUSINESS MANAGER Laurie Painter billing@keizertimes.com Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon RECEPTION Lori Beyeler facebook.com/keizertimes By MICHAEL GERSON Once upon a time, I thought the repudiation of white supremacists was the easiest layup shot in American politics. Not for the Trump campaign. Asked recently whether he consid- ered former KKK leader David Duke deplorable, vice presidential nomi- nee Mike Pence said he was “not in the name-calling business.” Earlier this year Donald Trump was posed a similar question and claimed, incred- ibly and repeatedly, “I don’t know anything about David Duke.” In a particularly revealing campaign mo- ment, Trump was asked to repudiate the anti-Semitic death threats made by some of his followers against a re- porter. “I don’t have a message to the fans,” Trump said. The fans, no doubt, regard this as the gotcha game of a politically cor- rect press. Even if this is true, an initial reluctance to condemn some of the very worst people in American poli- tics conveys a message. Several years ago, researchers developed an Implicit Association Test -- a sort of comput- erized “blink test” measuring how subjects associate positive and negative words with people of different races. The immediate reaction of a politician to the KKK is a kind of political blink test. The right response is revulsion. And there has generally been a Grand Wizard exception to the prohibition on name-calling. For a politician on the right, this is an entirely costless Sister Souljah mo- ment. The repeated refusal to seize it conveys an impression of calculation. It indicates a strategy of no enemies to the right. For some of us, this raises the hard- est moral and emotional issue of the current campaign. The Republican nominee came to prominence feeding fears of Mexicans, migrants and Muslims. He refuses to en- gage in the normal moral and political hygiene of repudiating extremism. I don’t believe that any- thing close to half of Trump support- ers are motivated by racism. But they are willing to tolerate a level of preju- dice that should be morally unaccept- able in a presidential candidate. Why is this such a problem? Be- cause racial prejudice is not one prob- lem among many in American history. It is the sin that nearly destroyed us. It is a special category of wrong. It is not suffi cient to say: I agree with Trump on 90 percent of the issues—on tax reform and energy policy and crimi- nal justice issues—but dissent on the 10 percent involving systematic reli- gious discrimination, forced expul- sion, war crimes, the demonization of refugees and the general dehumaniza- tion of the other. These matters are foundational. History has little sympathy for those who supported Stephen Doug- las for his views on tariff policy or internal improvements while down- playing his belief that the rights of minorities should be determined by the majority. As Abraham Lincoln saw it, America fought at Gettysburg and Antietam over the most basic ques- tions—how to defi ne the protections and promise of a great republic, as well as the duties we owe to each other as human beings. This remains the cen- tral issue of politics —the source of its nobility when it serves human dignity, other views and a source of dishonor when it re- fl ects baser motives. It is not possible to build the greatness of this nation— this shining example in the conscience of humanity—while forgetting or un- dermining its deepest ideals. A refusal to aggressively confront a racially tinged extremism has been taken as a source of validation by white nationalists. They feel embold- ened. Duke reports being “overjoyed” that Trump has embraced “most of the issues I’ve championed for years.” No presidential candidate is responsible for the views of all their supporters. But at least since the 1960s, conser- vative leaders have felt a responsibility to actively oppose and discredit those elements of the right that identify Americanism with ethnic purity and spin conspiracy theories of Semitic control. Opposing these longstanding tendencies of right-wing nationalism is part of what conservative intellec- tual and political leadership has meant for decades. The current vacuum of such leadership at the top of the Re- publican ticket is taken as a cultural signal by both the perpetrators and objects of prejudice. Or so I would argue. Other Re- publicans I know and like fi nd my viewpoint morally problematic, be- cause it helps enable the election of Hillary Clinton and the nomination of liberals to the Supreme Court, which would result in irreparable harm to the country. It is a dispute causing a crisis of self-defi nition among con- servatives, straining and rupturing friendships across the movement. That is another legacy of Donald Trump, who will be known for the wounds he leaves behind. (Washington Post Writers Group) Protests during national anthem Keizertimes EDITOR & PUBLISHER Trump’s tolerance of prejudice twitter.com/keizertimes It’s been done by the same guy in past years and he’s back at it again this NFL season, now being joined by other pro-football players. ath- letes in other sports and even some high school teams. Their protest, by sitting, kneeling or raising fi sts dur- ing the national anthem, is intend- ed to bring attention to what they view as wrongdoing against African- Americans and other minorities in the U.S. Whatever the case, this ac- tion has brought out many Ameri- cans for and against the protest: those against view it as disrespectful to our fl ag; others accept it as free speech al- lowed by the First Amendment. The Star-Spangled Banner had its origin in a poem written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812. The Star-Spangled Banner was recognized for offi cial use by the U.S. Navy in 1889, U.S. President Wood- row Wilson in 1916, and made the national anthem by congressional resolution on March 3, 1931. Be- fore 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American offi cialdom, in- cluding Hail, Columbia, My Country Tis of Thee and America the Beautiful. In the span of my own lifetime, and presuming most Americans alive today, whenever we’ve been to a ball game of most any kind we’ve heard the announcer say, “Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and remove your caps for singing of the na- tional anthem.” This instruction has been simply accepted for a number of years although not that long ago it wasn’t the cus- tom it has be- come. So, after Colin Kaepe- rnick and his band of fellow athletes now not standing or following the instructions of old, I asked myself how did it happen that this practice was adopted. In Tacoma’s historic district, across from the Pantages Theater, is a plaque that honors Rossell G. O’Brian, an Irish immigrant who was born in Dublin in 1846 which happens to be a year during which the potato fam- ine ravished many an Irish family and may have had a lot to do with the fact that O’Brian decided on a life in the U.S. Like many immigrants of old who came to America, O’Brian appar- ently was determined to show his patriotism to his adopted country. At the age of 16 he joined an Illinois infantry and fought in the U.S. Civil War. By war’s end in 1865, he had achieved Brigadier General status. After the war he relocated to the Washington Territory. According to his biographer, John Keane, O’Brian became clerk of the Washington State Supreme Court, mayor of Olympia and fi rst commander of the National Guard of Washington Territory. O’Brian’s fame resulted from what he did at the Bostwick Hotel in Tacoma on October 18, 1893.At a meeting of the local chapter of a national Civil War veterans, O’Brian stood and made a motion, propos- ing that “People should rise and re- gene h. mcintyre move their hats, if they were not in the military, and stand at attention for the playing of any of the national anthems.” The motion passed, and, within a couple of years, the custom had been adopted nationwide and Congress made it part of offi cial United States Code. I cannot recall in my entire life, having attended a gathering of any kind where The Star-Spangled Ban- ner was played, that any American I knew sat through it, raised a fi st or knelt on one knee. Doing that sort of thing is not something that will get a person arrested but it surprises this writer that so many young ath- letes will join the instigator by this form of protest. But what I’d most like to know is why this group, too often overpaid, overindulged and over-idolized pro- fessional athletes, apparently pre- fers protest rather than applying their energy volunteering to help black youth or participating in making improvements to black neighbor- hoods. Instead, they perform grand- standing acts, drawing attention to themselves and serving mostly to aid our nation’s enemies who are always looking to enjoy that which divides us. (Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap- pears weekly in the Keizertimes.) Share your opinion Email a letter to the editor (300 words) by noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com
