OCTOBER 6, 2017, KEzZERTzMES, PAGE A5
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
How we should pray
By MICHAEL GERSON
One thing we learn from tragedy:
that there is always more to come.
We experience the death of a
loved one, the suicide of
a friend, the suffering of
a child, and the harsh-
ness and pain of the world
break in, unannounced
and unwelcome. Few have
been spared, and then
only temporarily.
But sometimes there
are moments when we experience
tragedy, not individually, but collec-
tively, as a country, in events that seem
too terrible for a single day. This is
what happened in Las Vegas, with bul-
lets from the sky, bringing death, sud-
den and unearned. In days to come, we
may learn the dark reasons or manias
that produced homicide on such a
scale. We will also hear more stories of
self-sacrifi ce, as friends helped friends,
and parents instinctively reached out
to shield the bodies of their children.
“They’re 20,” said one man. “I’m 53. I
lived a good life.”
All of us who interpret events for
a living look into the abyss of tragedy
and tend to see reasons for what brings
us comfort. For some, it is passage of a
law. For others, support for a religious
or philosophic belief. The alternative,
after all, is impotent silence. Some of
these insights from the abyss may be
profoundly true. But they are mainly
about us. What matters more is the
grief and loss of families, and the defi -
ant remembering of each life. This will
be the proper focus of the next few
days.
That said, I do come
at these events from a
religious perspective, as
some of the victims surely
did, and as some of their
loved ones surely do. The
Christian faith involves a
whisper from beyond time
that death, while horrible, is not fi nal
-- that the affi rmations of the creeds
and the inscriptions on tombstones are
not lies. And for many, this hope is a
barrier against despair.
Yet faith also encompasses some-
thing deeper and more diffi cult --
what theologian Jurgen Moltmann has
called “God’s terrible silence.” In that
silence, only the scarred God, the weak
and victimized God, the God of the
cross seems to communicate. Not in
words, but in a shocking example of
lonely suffering. Christians turn to a
God who once felt godforsaken, as all
of us may feel in the nightmare of loss.
At this type of moment, even those
with tenuous ties to religion offer their
thoughts and prayers. But how should
we pray? Concerning grief, as many
can attest, it is not strength or struggle
that matters most; it is perseverance.
And that is as good a thing to pray
for as any, for those who cannot see
other
views
Quality of life
Every political issue, every single
piece of legislation (on both state and
federal levels) is about quality of life.
The kind of life that everyone wants
for themselves, their families, the kind
of life that is promised in
our constitution and Bill of
Rights. We have been guar-
anteed the right to pursue
happiness.
Whose happiness comes
fi rst? Is the happiness of a
young family of four para-
mount to the happiness of
a corporate chieftain or po-
litical leader or vice versa? The great
experiment known as American de-
mocracy is an on-going struggle in-
volving many defi nitions of happiness.
The nation was divided in the 1930s
when many people wanted to stay out
of Europe’s business; by the early 1940s
most American’s were doing their part
for the war effort including iron and
rubber drives and growing Victory
Gardens.
The difference between the 1930s
and the early 1940s was of course
Pearl Harbor—America had been at-
tacked. Once the U.S. declared war on
Japan, the Empire’s ally, Hitler’s Ger-
many declared war on America. Then
all Americans were in the fi ght, the
good fi ght to defeat Facism and save
the world for democracy. That was the
work of the Greatest Generation.
If you want your people to come
together you need to identify a com-
mon enemy. Americans fi guratively
locked arms in solidarity after the at-
tacks of 9/11; the enemy was Osama
Bin Laden and terrorism. That post-
attack solidarity soon sprouted fi ssures
and the country was back to partian-
ship.
Quality of life is a mother’s issue.
One need look no further than Moth-
ers Against Drunk Driving to see the
power of mothers. From the single
idea of Candy Lightner came this
powerful national organization fi ght-
ing against drinking and driving. To
see how tough a woman can be, just
threaten her children; that mother will
show no mercy when protecting her
children. Which makes violence very
much a mother’s issue.
Think of the thousands of moth-
ers who have been left
grieving over the un-
timely death of a child
due to violence, especially
gun violence. While only
a small fraction of soci-
ety advocates the banning
of all guns, a much larger
percentage of society un-
derstands that will never
happen. But what can happen, led by
mothers across the nation, is gun re-
form that strenghtens legislation that
even the NRA supports.
There are plenty of women and
mothers who own a gun for their own
protection or for sport. Curiously, only
one of the many mass shooters in re-
cent years have been female.
Our democracy allows people
to talk for or against guns and other
weapons. That same democracy also
allows one side to cow the other side
so that any talk about gun control is
shut down. Some politicians say that
the time to talk about gun control re-
form is not after a mass shooting, in
deference to the victims. At the rate of
mass shootings there will never be a
time to have a honest dialogue about
guns.
Every victim of violence is some-
body’s child. The normal order of
things is that a child is not supposed
to precede their parents in death. A se-
rious discussion of violence and guns
in this country can happen if moth-
ers, the protectors of our quality of life,
join arms and seek changes to our gun
culture.
Guns will not be banned, ever, in
this country; but, changes can be made
to make them less accessible to those
who shouldn’t have them as well as
prevent a gun from being turned from
a one-shot gun into a automatic weap-
on.
— LAZ
CERT training
starting soon
Community
Emer-
gency Response Team
(CERT) training is a free
community preparedness
course that includes both
academic and hands-on
skills training. CERT
training prepares you to
help yourself, your family and your
co-workers in the event of a cata-
strophic disaster. Emergency person-
nel may not be able to help immedi-
ately and you can make a difference
by using CERT training to save lives
and protect property.
The training comes with no ob-
ligation to join the Keizer CERT
team. You may take the course and
use the information and skills in your
personal life and, if you wish, join
our team and become involved in
monthly training as well as oppor-
tunities to support our community
numerous times throughout the year.
Training sessions this year are on
Saturdays, Oct. 14, Oct. 28 and Nov.
11. All sessions are scheduled for 9
a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Keizer Fire hall
at 661 Chemawa Rd. NE.
For more information email kei-
ercert@comcast.net or call 503-551-
2648.
Linda Pantalone, Coordinator
Keizer CERT
our
opinion
letters
To the Editor:
The idea for the Com-
munity Emergency Re-
sponse Team (CERT)
came about in the 1980s
in Los Angeles, California. The idea
is that spontaneous and minimally
trained volunteers can assist emer-
gency service personnel during large
disasters.
The 1985 Mexico City earth-
quake made it clear that spontaneous
and untrained rescuers can greatly
increase the ability of emergency
services (they rescued 800 victims)
but also have a high risk of becoming
victims themselves (more than 100
rescuers died).
Keizer CERT (Community
Emergency Response Team) is spon-
sored by Marion County Emer-
gency Management and partners
with Keizer Police Department and
Keizer Fire District. The CERT class
benefi ts attendees by teaching skills
in basic disaster preparedness, fi re
safety and utilities controls, basic di-
saster medical care, light search and
rescue, disaster psychology, terrorism
and communication.
Keizertimes
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Salem, Oregon
a future without their friend, without
their child. Our attention is tempo-
rary; their suffering will not fade easily,
if ever.
For the rest of us, there is the short,
fragile unity found in sympathy. It
is a good thing to take a break from
hate and strife, to remember the vic-
tims and survivors and to recall our
common vulnerability and humanity.
There is ultimately no isolation from
evil and death. But there is solidarity
in facing the worst of it together, by
caring for these people, our people, in
their hour of loss.
Grief, it’s been said, is the price of
love. And events like this one natu-
rally turn our minds to those we love.
We are reminded by tragedy that life
is temporary and precious. We hold
others briefl y in our arms, and try to
reach out and shield them from harm.
But it is the uncomfortable truth of
our nature that our days together are
counted and fi nite. And we should fi nd
a fi erce pleasure in each one of them,
even in those we think are the dullest
and worst.
As time passes, of course, both our
unity and sense of life’s fragility will
fade, which is also a truth of our na-
ture. But they are somewhere, just
below the surface, waiting to be sum-
moned by joy or grief.
(Washington Post Writers Group)
Salem is wrong to ban sidewalk sitting
By GENE H. McINTYRE
Generalization. It’s where a con-
clusion is reached based on insuffi cient
evidence and without consideration of
all the possible variables. It was one
of my favorite tools from a young
age, usually used unsuccessful, where
I wanted to do something or possess
something and argued that everyone
else had it or did it.
Another matter that is
indisputably part of every-
day modern life, at least
in these United States, is
divisiveness. Almost daily,
and seemingly more often
experienced since the in-
auguration of the current
president, we fi nd our-
selves immersed in issues that lead to
divergent points of view, dividing the
American public into hostile camps
characterized by bombastic name-call-
ing and dire threats directed at those
who differ in point of view.
This writer could choose from
many issues of current status but nar-
rows the list to homelessness. Case in
point: the city of Salem proposed the
following city ordinance: “It shall be
unlawful for any person to sit or lie
down upon a public sidewalk, or upon
a blanket, chair or stool, or any other
object placed upon a public sidewalk,
during the hours between 7 a.m. and
9 p.m.”
As it happened in 2009, an ordi-
nance like the one proposed in Salem
was another very similar to it proposed
in Portland. In that case, a Multnomah
County Circuit Court ruled such a
“sit-lie” ordinance unconstitutional
because it was at odds with Oregon
law. There was considerable nega-
tive feedback before city councilors
rejected it. Among those who voiced
opposition were townspeople, the Sa-
lem Area Chamber of Commerce, a
city councilor, Salem’s chief of police
and Oregon’s American
Civil Liberties Union.
A representative sample
from those who spoke re-
garding the proposed or-
dinance were statements
such as that the “Proposal
targets and dehumanizes
the most vulnerable part
of our population,” “Com-
passion’s needed for the homeless,”
“Salem can do more than it is already
doing,” “Respect for police who are
just trying to fi x a problem,” and that
“These kinds of ordinances violate in-
dividuals’ right.” No one spoke up in
favor of it.
The city attorney, whose offi ce pre-
pared the Salem ordinance, declined
to comment. Ultimately, Salem’s city
councilors voted that the city of Sa-
lem mayor establish a task force to
study homelessness in downtown and
North Salem. Unfortunately, this kind
of referral action often means that a
controversial proposal will fi nd a con-
venient resting place in the graveyard
of good intentions.
Nevertheless, what if the city of
Salem, through leadership by the may-
or and advisors, analyzed individ-
guest
column
ual problems suffi cient to tailor city
actions with a high probability of suc-
cess. First and foremost, what’s given is
that there is no one fi t to achieve suc-
cess for every homeless person; hence,
keep the fallacy of generalization in
mind. As case after case will reveal,
homeless persons are homeless for
many reasons, including, for exam-
ple, mental health problems, physical
health problems, lack of education/
training, and an unwillingness to work.
If each homeless person has been
individually interviewed and noth-
ing’s worked, after ‘no stone’s been left
unturned,’ then it would seem that an
ordinance would only be approved to
deal with lawbreakers and those able-
bodied but unwilling to be trained for
work and jobs. Otherwise, plans with
the means to realize successful out-
comes should be implemented, fol-
lowed-up and accordingly adjusted
when needed.
In the fi nal analysis there must be
ways and means to respect and pro-
tect normal street traffi c where every
American is free to go about his legal
business while also fi nding resolution
to the number among us in home-
less circumstances. After all, while it
may come across as Pollyannaish, this
one, among so many divisive challeng-
es in our nation today, is one that can
be solved locally...should we decide
to put our heads, hearts, wallets and
know-how to the task.
(Gene H. Mczntyre lives in Keizer.)
Disrepect for the fl ag is not patriotic
By WAYNE MORELAND
During the late 1960s and early
‘70s, we were told that the burning
of the American fl ag, the spitting on
returning members of the military, the
burning of a ROTC building at the
University of Oregon and the calling
of police offi cers as pigs were all ac-
ceptable forms of protest and the ex-
ercise of free speech.
Well, it was disrespectful to the fl ag,
the people and the
nation. It was disre-
spectful then and it is
disrespectful now. The
disrespect began last
year, before Donald
Trump became Presi-
dent Trump. Granted,
the speech the presi-
dent made at a politi-
cal rally (not a policy speech) made
the matter front page stuff. But to
blame the speech is to turn a blind eye
to the actions from a year earlier.
It is said that who we are as an in-
dividual is the sum of our experiences
that led us to this point in time. My
experiences in law enforcement and
in the U.S. Air Force have obviously
brought me to a different place than
the editor of this publication. I see no
gray. Rather, I see the actions of the
NFL and its players as blatant disre-
spect of this country and those who
have served. If their issue was with the
police, there are many offi cers at all
their games that they could approach
with their grievances. But, of course, it
takes moral courage to do that.
Hardly a day goes by without news
of a police offi cer somewhere being
pictured while sticking their head
into a burning car to rescue some-
one. And all too often, news of offi -
cers being slain doing their duty for
their community. In fact, if you care
to look, there’s a memorial in front of
the Public Service Bldg. in the Capi-
tol Mall dedicated to Oregon State
Police troopers who gave their life in
service to the state of Oregon. Take a
look sometime; I personally knew and
worked with several of them. Are there
some bad cops? Of course; I worked
with a couple of them, too. But to
disrespect the nation and the
thousands of offi cers who serve
and have served with pride
and honor far outweighs the
few that have made the news.
And, incidentally, they weren’t
all bad. Remember “Hands up,
don’t shoot?” Well, court re-
cords indicate that didn’t even
happen.
As I write this, the headlines are all
about the insanity in Las Vegas. And
once again, there were uniformed po-
guest
opinion
lice, fi re, EMS and likely some military
rushing towards that gunfi re. Others
remained at the scene to render aid,
because it was the right thing to do.
Let’s see how the NFL complainers
handle Las Vegas this weekend. If they
continue to disrespect the people who
do right, shame on them.
So be careful of who you name
as the heroes and villains of today’s
America. Do the players and their ilk
have the right to protest? Certainly.
But when their protest adds to the
division and disrespect of America,
I’m done. After a fan of more than 70
years, I won’t even look at the scores,
yet alone another game.
And as to the president’s speech,
I fi nd little difference between “The
cops acted stupidly” and “John Mc-
Cain was no hero.” Disrespect is dis-
respect.
(Wayne A. Moreland lives in Keizer.)