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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, dEcEmbER 1, 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
Let’s find reasons to give thanks
T
his is the year of “for better or
worse.”
And despite the human rav-
ages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ore-
gon has much to be thankful for.
We found that essential workers
come in all types, from the nurses, doc-
tors and technicians directly caring for
COVID-19 patients, to the housekeepers
and custodians diligently sanitizing hos-
pital rooms, to the clerks
keeping grocery stores
humming and the truck-
ers keeping supplies
arriving.
And many more.
Never again should soci-
ety take any job for
DICK
granted or consider it
HUGHES
humbler than one’s own.
We learned that
schools are essential not only for edu-
cation but also for life-building social
interactions among students and child
care for working parents.
We missed the traditional moments
of graduation season but found joy in
drive-thru ceremonies and other such
as-best-we-can substitutes.
We discovered that schools can hold
online art exhibitions, displaying photos
of chalk art created on driveways and
sidewalks around town.
We unwrapped our creativity. Dis-
tilleries learned to produce hand sani-
tizer that chambers of commerce distrib-
uted for free. Dude-ranch experiences
and fire-station tours went virtual. Older
youth offered free online tutoring for
younger and less tech-savvy kids.
Government agencies developed
ways to remotely conduct some building
inspections. Streetside dining became
a reality, at least temporarily, as cities
closed car lanes so restaurants could set
up tables on sidewalks and in parking
areas. From car dealers to farmers mar-
kets, businesses of all types upped their
online presence and pivoted to curbside
pickup and home delivery.
We showed Willamette Valley law-
makers what it was like to live in the
rest of Oregon, where long travel dis-
tances often make it impractical to meet
in person with state officials in Salem or
Jenny Kane/AP Photo
A patient receives an IV drip as face masks hang from an IV pole at a hospital in Portland in
August.
cOmPELLING RESEARcH SHOWS THAT
EXPRESSING GRATITudE cAN bOOST mENTAL
ANd PHySIcAL HEALTH. IN THIS yEAR OF GREAT
SORROW ANd PROFOuNd TRAumA, LET uS
ALSO FINd REASONS TO GIVE THANKS.
testify at the Legislature. With the Cap-
itol and most government offices closed
to the public, everyone has had to meet
by phone or videoconference.
We learned much about public health
and expanded our vocabulary. We even-
tually realized that “social distancing”
was not our communal goal, because
humans need connections to thrive, but
“physical distancing” could keep the
coronavirus at bay while allowing oppo-
site-sides-of-the-driveway conversations
with neighbors.
We witnessed the adaptability of
the Oregon National Guard. This year
saw the guard being deployed over-
seas, fighting wildfires in Oregon, deliv-
ering personal protective equipment
and answering phones for the Oregon
Employment Department.
We set aside political differences as
Oregonians fought those wildfires, res-
cued neighbors and sought to protect
one another’s homes and businesses.
We shared a common sorrow at the
social, economic and educational losses
from the pandemic. We grieved the loss
of loved ones to COVID-19, to depres-
sion and suicide, and to conditions that
went unnoticed or untreated.
We lost businesses and income, or
knew others who did. We found that
online learning and distance education
work for some students and teachers, but
not for others, as the pandemic laid bare
the inequities in urban and rural Oregon.
Most of all, we rediscovered
community.
Bus drivers delivered meals to home-
bound Oregonians. Schools converted
their now-vacant buildings into rest
stops for truckers. Musicians banded
together for online concerts, and people
found ways to support these same musi-
cians, concert workers and others out of
work due to event cancellations.
Residents sewed face masks and
gave them away. Cities, counties and the
state launched loan programs for busi-
nesses. Residents stepped up to support
their favorite restaurants via takeout and
delivery, often adding extra tips in rec-
ognition of the staff’s lost workdays.
Auto dealers purchased gift cards from
local restaurants to thank customers for
taking a test drive.
Police officers and sheriff’s deputies
connected with children by reading sto-
ries to them on video. We worshipped in
different ways, adapting to small-group
settings — when they were allowed —
and to online religious services.
Compelling research shows that
expressing gratitude can boost mental
and physical health. In this year of great
sorrow and profound trauma, let us also
find reasons to give thanks.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Saddened
I
n this year 2020, which has but six more
weeks left in it, a year of turmoil, dis-
sent, illness and death, I thought that there
was nothing else that might happen which
would be able to shock, disillusion or
depress me. Sadly, I was wrong.
Nov. 22 passed with little to no pub-
lic notice taken of the anniversary of the
assassination of President John F. Ken-
nedy. For me, as I am sure for many oth-
ers, that day in 1963 will live in infamy as
much as Dec. 7, 1941, or Sept. 11, 2001.
Every one of us who was alive and at
least of school-age on that day, Nov. 22,
1963, will most likely remember exactly
where he or she was, or what he or she
was doing, when the tragic news first came
over the radio and then over television.
I am saddened by the fact that our pub-
lic discourse has diminished to the level
that the media can focus attention on
whether it was hair dye or mascara that
dripped down Rudy Giuliani’s face, but
cannot give proper and honorable con-
sideration to, and commemoration of, the
death of one of our greatest presidents.
BARRY L. PLOTKIN
Astoria
Our response
I
crunched some numbers on Nov. 13 for
fun to compare our response to that of
another country, New Zealand. The num-
bers were adjusted to account for differ-
ences in populations.
If the U.S. had used the response that
New Zealand did for COVID-19, our total
to date infections would be a little more
than 132,000; not the 10,965,000 that we
have had.
Also, the death toll would be about
1,655; not the 249,000 who have died so
far. Statistical reports show President Don-
ald Trump’s rallies led to 700 deaths of the
30,000 people he helped infect, according
to Stanford University researchers.
The New Zealand prime minister
was also reelected in a landslide victory,
attributed to that country’s coronavirus
response.
I know how some people hate numbers
they don’t like, but I thought people ought
to know how much better we could have
done on this pandemic.
RICK NEWTON
Warrenton
LETTERS WELCOME
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Curious
T
he “Lean in … potholes” letter to the
editor on Nov. 21 left me curious.
I love that The Astorian prints diverse
opinions, especially when they break my
previous assumptions. I personally love
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
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rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
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Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
the wide range of colors Astoria’s busi-
nesses and residential areas sport. It’s one
of the things that makes our town unique.
Whether we like it or not, tourism is
important to our town’s economy, and
standing out from other seaside desti-
nations is beneficial. But I respect that
not everyone feels this way, as this letter
reminded me.
I admire the effort the owners of the
Odd Fellows Building went to in culti-
vating public opinion through online vot-
ing when they won grant money to repaint
their building. Purple wasn’t my vote, but
I think it looks great — anything was bet-
ter than the awful Band-Aid color it was
before.
Video Horizons might have benefited
from this strategy, as I agree that their
color scheme isn’t as aesthetically pleasing
as the rest of the block on Duane Street.
Is there an accessible way to gain com-
munity opinion and support when pri-
vately owned businesses make changes
to their building facades? Should they
bother? I don’t know the answer, but in my
opinion, any paint job is better than a dere-
lict beige, white or off-white one.
ANDREA McDERMED
Astoria