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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2020)
A4 THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, AuguST 8, 2020 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher DERRICK DePLEDGE Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager GUEST COLUMN Millions of Maris ear Mari, firsthand what many people discover only Watching your dance recital when they are much older: that the best, on Zoom the other night, I saw most important things in life offer choices your joy as you performed the dances and responsibility, with possibilities for you’d been practicing for months. joy and achievement. Because you care so You couldn’t hear the applause of the much about dance, you’re eager to give other grandparents scat- it energy and attention so tered around the coun- you can be your best and try, and my impres- do your best — and make sion is that you really the dancing look easy. didn’t need to. The joy It seems to me that was coming from within ballet is like democracy. A you, along with the sat- dancer must master those isfaction of accomplish- essential basic positions ing something meaning- for feet and the rest of the ful to yourself. You made body. They are the foun- dation for doing every- standing on your toes thing else in ballet. If you while dancing in place can’t do those basic posi- look easy. As if. MILLIONS tions, you can’t do ballet. I remember when you Like ballet, democ- started ballet lessons 10 OF VOTERS racy is stunningly mag- years ago. You loved nificent when it goes well being with the other stu- dETERMINE dents, wearing a leo- — when people make the THE CHARACTER choices and do the work tard and ballet shoes and being in the mirrored that keep it thriving. OF A TOWN dance studio. The first essential step You worked hard to is to be a voter. Every OR STATE OR learn the five basic ballet election, no exceptions. COuNTRy. positions for the feet and Voting inspires more then the eight positions skills — like telling for the body. And each year, it got easier elected representatives what you want, and harder at the same time. staying informed about the news, sup- porting issues and candidates you care You mastered steps and positions that about, writing letters to the editor, pro- had been really difficult. Then it was on testing, volunteering and even running for to the next level, with sequined costumes, office. partnering with other dancers and chore- ography to match the mood and tempo of Voting means you claim your stake in the music. the outcome and you want your opinion You’ve shown me how much you want heard. Voting means you know that your to learn ballet. You practice even when voice and your choice matter. it isn’t fun, when you’re tired, when you Dancers work with people they might can’t figure out the steps. You go to les- not like but who share their passion for sons, now virtual, even when you’d rather dance. They create a corps de ballet — play Minecraft with your brothers. You dancers working together to create some- thing beautiful, something that a dancer take the hours needed to prep a new pair can’t do alone. of pointe shoes — what my generation That’s the surprise of democracy, too. called toe shoes. You know that if you Millions of voters determine the character don’t do it right, you can’t dance correctly, of a town or state or country. Sometimes and even worse, you could injure yourself. the result is beautiful. I’m thrilled you’ve already learned D Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian Laurie Caplan is the chairwoman of Indivisible North Coast Oregon. Many of us thought democracy main- tained itself. We were perilously wrong. We’ve learned that it’s fragile and break- able, that it’s easy to do it badly and that people get hurt when we are careless with it. In fact, democracy needs a whole lot of care from a whole lot of Americans to make it achieve what it’s capable of doing. We’ve seen what happens in America and other countries when people aren’t allowed to speak freely, gather to protest, criticize the government, or vote. We’ve grown complacent and allowed some elected leaders to skip the basics in our mistaken belief that democracy is inevitable and indestructible. Democracy lives only when most citizens commit to its survival. If we want to have a democracy, we have to keep doing all the things required to keep it, starting with being an informed voter. When we were together last year, you coached me as we practiced the five basic positions for the feet. I was rusty and not particularly graceful, but was thrilled that I remembered those positions from my childhood lessons. It’s that way with democracy, too. I love that I get to keep doing democracy, regardless of age or agility. I can still vote. I can still make my voice heard. In just four years, you’ll be old enough to be a voter. I’m glad you already pay attention to the news and follow issues that matter to you. I’m glad you think about what kind of community and coun- try you want to live in. I look forward to watching you do democracy. You were one dancer on the stage. Imagine millions of Maris giving Amer- ican democracy the same energy and enthusiasm you gave to your dance recital. Imagine every American voting. Imag- ine every American eagerly working to make democracy thrive. Oh my, what a magnificent sight that will be! Love always, Grandma Laurie Laurie Caplan, the chairwoman of Indivisible North Coast Oregon, lives in Astoria. This guest column is one of sev- eral being published by The Astorian in August to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Any good? O ur governor has recently increased the requirements for mask usage. I see lots of cute designer and serious-as-a- heart-attack surgeons’ masks in use. We know from countless admonitions that this is “saving lives.” Now, are the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention suggestions and gover- nor requirements doing any good? Let’s see how that works. Right now there is an increase of reported infections. There is a corresponding increase in the required use of masks. Using the CDC’s methodology, one of two things is true: The masks cause the increase, or they are ineffective. ROBERT LIDDYCOAT Seaside Delusion D elusion is believing something that’s false in spite of indisputable evidence to the contrary. President Donald Trump’s incessant claim that we would have way fewer COVID-19 cases if we just didn’t test so much is a perfect example, among many that he exhibits every day. It’s like saying you only have five fin- gers, if you just don’t look at your other hand. Keep it in your pocket, maybe. Those cases — and fingers — exist, folks, whether or not we look at them. And continuing to support him and his presidency is just as deluded. We’re lucky to have survived it as well as we have, so far. Allowing it to continue is intolerable. JOSEPH WEBB Astoria Please vote A nn Richards, the former governor of Texas, once said, “It is not always good things happen when good people vote. But it is true that bad things happen when good people don’t vote.” I wonder if the Founding Fathers thought of that when they set up the Amer- ican experiment in democracy. I’ll bet they did, since they came up with the concept of government by the people. One person — one vote. If government is a reflection of what the majority of people want, and it’s supposed to be, then all citizens voting is import- ant to determine our government. Sounds good, but rarely happens. Americans believe majority rules. Right? Considering the number of eligible voters who don’t vote, or don’t get to vote, LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writ- er’s name, address and phone num- ber. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar and factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters writ- ten in response to other letter writ- ers should address the issue at hand, and, rather than mentioning the writer it’s rare the true will of the majority of cit- izens is expressed, which means minority rules. Do the math. This contributes, in my opinion, two problems our country faces and strug- gles to solve. Research shows vote by mail can raise voter turnout. It’s not the whole answer, but it for sure helps. Voting determines not only what our country does, but also how much effort is put into solving each problem. Our coun- try belongs to all of us, and the path that takes should be determined by the major- ity of all citizens. That’s real government by the people. Here’s to you, Ann Richards, for reminding us of the importance of voting. Thomas Jefferson said democracy will last as long as enough people care to defend it. Our democracy needs us. Please vote. CARL DOMINEY Astoria by name, should refer to the head- line and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Letters in poor taste will not be printed. Send via email to editor@ dailyastorian.com, online at bit.ly/asto- rianletters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or 1555 North Roos- evelt in Seaside, or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR., 97103. Doing the right thing A s the COVID-19 pandemic contin- ues in Clatsop County, the Public Health Department has actively partnered with employers to prevent and control the spread of the virus by implementing preventative best practices and working closely to address outbreaks. It is through these private-public part- nerships that we do our best work in responding to this unpredictable and highly contagious virus. We are commit- ted to work in unison with our private sector partners to protect employees and the general public and simultaneously support the viability and operations of the businesses. This private-public partnership has been particularly visible with local sea- food processors. Our community has benefitted by the collaborative and trans- parent responses of Bornstein’s and Da Yang. Both businesses supported the establishment of Public Health test- ing clinics for all employees and con- tact tracing for positive and presumptive cases. The respective businesses worked dil- igently with Public Health every step of the way to ensure the health and safety of their employees and the broader commu- nity was the top priority. The Clatsop County Board of Com- missioners and Public Health staff appre- ciate the quick and decisive steps these two seafood processors took to tempo- rarily stop production, sanitize facilities, support employee testing, provide access to public health and safety information in a linguistically and culturally-appropriate manner and assist with contact tracing. Clatsop County publicly recognizes Bornstein’s and Da Yang for their com- mitment to public health and safety and willing cooperation with the Public Health Department. We sincerely hope we don’t have any more outbreaks of COVID in these facilities; but, if we do, we know these two companies will do the right thing. Thank you very much! KATHLEEN SULLIVAN SARAH NEBEKER MARK KUJALA PAMELA WEV LIANNE THOMPSON Clatsop County Board of Commissioners MICHAEL McNICKLE Director, Clatsop County Public Health Department
