OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015
Living in the present ... and the future
L
iving in the present matters. Now we must also live in the
future — to respond to where trends are taking our econo-
my and our culture. Unless we grasp where the world is head-
ed, we waste time quibbling over things that no longer matter.
Gerald Seib of The Wall Watch. He also said it was im-
Street Journal captured that
phenomenon when he said the
immigration debate is caught in
a time warp.” Seib’s May 5 col-
umn described what Republican
presidential candidates are say-
ing.
Wrote Seib: “...the premise of
this immigration de-
portant for agriculture
bate — that waves of
to take its perspective
Hispanic immigrants
into urban areas. And
are sweeping across
he is looking at growing
our southern border,
organics on his farm.
swelling the naiton’s
As Madison de-
population of undoc-
scribed his plans and
umented immigrants
where he believes
and transforming the
Eastern Oregon agricul-
Steve
culture and economy
ture must go, he exhib-
Forrester
— is caught in a kind
ited no sense of regret
of time warp dominat-
or retribution. In other
ed by trends of decades past and words, he does not carry bag-
largely missing the immigration gage that might have inhibited
issues that really matter today.” many farmers in prior genera-
Seib pointed out that in 2013, tions.
“China replaced Mexico as the
In fairness, I would add that
top country sending immigrants farmers are among the most
to the U.S.” And this year appre- practical people I have known.
hension of immigrants coming They also tend to be well in-
up from Mexico had fallen by formed.
28 percent. Also Seib noted that
oliticians are stuck in the
the number of young and unac-
past, largely because there
companied minors crossing the
southern border “has plummet- is a high percentage payoff
in beating a dead horse. The
ed.”
Republican base wants to hear
olitics is not the
about the wave
Politicians
only arena that
of Mexican im-
dwells in the past. are stuck
migrants because
Some
industries
they’ve been sold
in the
miss opportunities,
that image for
because they are
years, and they
past,
¿JKWLQJROGEDWWOHV
earnestly believe
because
it
Smart companies
that’s what’s go-
accept the obvious works for
ing on. Don’t
and fashion new
count on any of
them.
initiatives.
the
presidential
The most refreshing voice candidates to acknowledge that
I’ve heard lately was Jake the Mexican immigration wave
Madison, a young farmer in the has been supplanted by what
Eastern Oregon town of Echo. Gerald Seib said is the current
Madison spoke last Friday to our and future reality — the Asian
Capital Press Board of Directors. wave.
At the age of 30, Madison is one-
For most of the 20th century,
half the median age of Oregon American politics were subser-
farmers. For three generations, vient to a region that was stuck in
the Madisons have been promi- false Civil War imagery, fed by
QHQW¿[WXUHVLQ(DVWHUQ2UHJRQ DZRUNRI¿FWLRQ²Gone With
agriculture. Now Jake has taken The Wind. That nostaligic and
ownership of 8,100 acres. And violent era ended with passage
he is looking squarely into the of a Civil Rights Act in 1964 and
future.
a Voting Rights Act. Now we
Water was Madison’s topic have a black president, whom
²VSHFL¿FDOO\DERXWDSURSRVDO Republican leaders demonize.
to pump Columbia River water What those GOP leaders fail to
into an aquifer and withdraw it realize is that Obama is only the
for crops. Madison talked about ¿UVW RI WKH QRQZKLWH SUHVLGHQWV
the importance of working with whom we’ll see in this century.
— S.A.F.
the environmental group Water
P
P
Submitted photo
Echo farmer Jake Madison poses with rows of onions at his farm.
Open forum
Friends are great
F
riendship is a good thing to have in
any school you go to. It’s nice to have
friends around who care for you, people to
talk to is really nice to have, too, and when
you have friends you create amazing mem-
ories together and bond together. It’s a good
thing to have loyal friends whom you can
trust. Friends who will have your back no
matter what happens. To have friends who
love you through thick and thin.
In school it’s nice to have someone who
understands you. It’s a good thing to have a
friend who doesn’t judge you for either mis-
takes you made, or things you have done.
To find a friend who doesn’t judge you will
be the long-lasting friend for you.
A friend who understands you still can
judge you. It just means they will be nice
to you about it, but to have both is really
nice to have. Friends who like you for who
you are and not because you’re rich, or have
something they want, is a loyal friend —
someone who has fun hanging out with you,
and enjoys your presence.
In friendship you have someone to talk
to. Friends will help you. When you want
someone to talk to, they will be there. When
you have friends you can talk about any-
thing the both of you want to talk about.
You can talk about boys or girls that you
like or have a crush on. Or, you guys could
talk about plans in the future you guys are
going to do together like camp, sleepovers,
parties and going to fun parks.
Some types of friends like to gossip with
one another, either about boys they like,
boys they don’t really like, girls they like,
girls they don’t like, celebrities they like or
movies coming out. Some cool friends like
to talk about new clothes or shopping.
When you have friends you create mem-
ories together that you can never forget in
your life. They can be good or they can be
bad. It is better if they are good ones, but
you never know. You can have good memo-
ries by going on double dates with friends.
Or going to the movies and having a really
fun time. You can have good memories of
camping with friends, too.
In this summary, I wrote about how
friendship is a good thing to have in school,
and really anywhere else. Friends are nice
to have around. Having friends, you have
people to talk to about. With friends you
create memories together. Friends help
friends out.
HOLLY WOOD
Broadway Middle School
Seaside
Disappointed with Boone
I
was very disappointed to see that state
Rep. Deb Boone voted to pass Senate
Bill 941, requiring gun checks for private
transfers of guns. She had emailed me prior
to the vote to say she would be voting no on
the bill. Instead, she voted against allowing
any amendments to the bill, against sending
it back to the committee to correct prob-
lems, and for the bill.
I wish Rep. Boone would explain how
she could vote for this bill. The bill requires
the following: If you want to leave your gun
with someone for safe keeping, or loan it to
someone for hunting, you will have to do a
background check to leave the gun with the
other person, and another one to get your
gun back.
Background checks do two things: They
check to see the person getting the gun can
own one; and they transfer the legal owner-
ship of the gun to the other person. So what
do you do if the person you loaned or left your
gun with refuses to do the background check
to give it back? They now own the gun.
What if the gun is lost or stolen when
in the other person’s possession? Do you
honestly think your insurance company will
pay you because a gun belonging to some-
one else is stolen?
So much for not infringing on the rights
of legal gun owners.
IRENE GILBERT
La Grande
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