A4
THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, JANuARy 4, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Few policymakers engaged in long-term solutions
O
regon remains a curious state
as we enter 2022.
Most of the state comprises
a mix of small towns, rural areas and
frontier landscapes. Yet a new gov-
ernor can be elected, a statewide bal-
lot measure passed or state legislation
enacted without these rural residents
having much of a say.
Amid that dominance of urban vot-
ers and big-city polit-
ical interests, not to
mention the economic
stagnation felt in wide
swaths of rural Ore-
gon, is it any won-
der that rural residents
feel aggrieved and left
DICK
behind? Yet for the
HUGHES
state to prosper, rural
Oregonians are just as
critical, just as relevant, as their urban
cousins.
Oregon seems unable, or unwill-
ing, to address these paradoxes. Most
Oregonians share the same core val-
ues, including family, good health,
educational and economic opportu-
nity and a deep love for our landscape.
Yet we, copying the rest of the coun-
try, have settled for a political system
that focuses on short-term, partisan
wins and losses instead of long-term,
mutual goals that serve the common
good.
This arrangement primarily ben-
efits politicians and special interests
who have a vested interest in gain-
ing short-term victories — getting
elected, building resumes and reaping
donations. How do we turn the con-
versation toward bringing Oregonians
together, regardless of place or poli-
tics? How do we collaboratively cre-
ate and commit to long-term strategies
that invest in an economically, envi-
ronmentally and socially healthy Ore-
gon instead of short-term fixes that
pick winners and losers?
Few policymakers seem engaged in
those questions. But some Oregonians
are trying to change that dynamic. One
is former Gov. John Kitzhaber. I spoke
with him last week and asked permis-
sion to share some of his recent writ-
ing that had resonated with me.
“We have allowed ourselves to
become increasingly defined by our
John Locher/AP Photo
Roseburg banded together after a mass shooting in 2015. But the community, like many
in the rural parts of Oregon, has seen societal rifts.
WHEN KITZHABER ANd I TALKEd, OuR
CONVERSATION WAS NOT ABOuT PARTISAN
POLITICS. NONE OF THIS ‘WHO’S RIGHT ANd
WHO’S WRONG.’ RATHER, IT WAS ABOuT HOW
CAN OREGONIANS REESTABLISH A SHAREd
IdENTITy SO WE CAN COLLECTIVELy BEGIN
TO TACKLE THE BIG ISSuES.
differences and, as a result, our poli-
tics have become reactive and deeply
transactional,” Kitzhaber wrote in a
not-yet-published essay. “Each legis-
lative session and budget cycle seem
to operate almost in isolation from one
another — from what came before and
what must come next — with the only
certain thing linking the policy and
budget decisions of one session with
another being the intervening, and
increasingly toxic, election cycle.”
In a newspaper guest opinion,
Kitzhaber wrote about the societal rifts
that have emerged in once close-knit
communities such as Roseburg, where
he was an emergency room physician
for years:
“(T)he problem is rooted, at least in
part, in the long-term economic chal-
lenges faced by many rural communi-
ties, and in a sense of isolation from
the political power centers in the more
urban parts of the state. Economic
struggle and isolation have been the
daily experience of many people in
rural Oregon, and they preceded the
pandemic by many years. Add to this
the intersection of state mandates with
a group of people who do not react
well when ‘told what to do’ by some-
one from outside — and you have
the formula for anger, frustration and
division.”
In a piece this week on LinkedIn,
he wrote: “Unbundling the complexity
of the health care system starts with a
question. Are we trying to ensure that
everyone has access to health care?
Or are we trying to ensure that every-
one is healthy? This question is foun-
dational because how we answer it
defines the rest of the conversation.”
Kitzhaber’s point was that the
health debate primarily has been
framed around lack of access to care
instead of the greater question of
how to ensure Americans are healthy.
Access is but one aspect.
Such too-narrow questions are
found throughout politics and pub-
lic policy. For example, the Legisla-
ture’s perennial school-budget debate
revolves around whether a certain dol-
lar amount is deemed adequate —
not whether the money is being spent
effectively and in the most essential
long-term areas. When there are so
many immediate needs, it is difficult to
find the political fortitude for making
long-term strategic investments.
Yet there are successes. One dear
to my heart is the Marion County pro-
gram that prepares individuals to make
a successful return to society upon
release from prison or jail. The county
initiative has strong support from
local business leaders and politicians
because of its demonstrated return on
investment. Helping people find hous-
ing, employment and other supports
is less costly and more beneficial to
the community than if the individuals
reoffend and return to prison.
When Kitzhaber and I talked, our
conversation was not about partisan
politics. None of this “who’s right and
who’s wrong.” Rather, it was about
how can Oregonians reestablish a
shared identity so we can collectively
begin to tackle the big issues. From
political campaigns to legislative dis-
cussions, how can we insert the ques-
tion of, “What should Oregon look
like in eight or 10 years, and what con-
crete steps are necessary to get there?”
I don’t pretend to have the answers.
I hope they will arise through small
conversations that become big conver-
sations. … Conversations by Orego-
nians who put shared values ahead of
politics.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Good ol’ days
D
oes anyone else remember the good
ol’ days, when things like lying,
cheating and stealing were considered
wrong? Even bad!
Now it seems lying is simply express-
ing an “alternative fact,” cheating is just
being smart at “gaming the system” and
stealing is as common as clicking “agree”
or “accept.”
So this “new reality” is called what? Oh
yeah — freedom!
DONNA LEE ROLLINS
Astoria
Pain-free life
T
he recent guest column from U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley and David Russo regard-
ing the NOPAIN Act, “Give patients a
choice on pain management” (The Asto-
rian, Dec. 28): Excellent … as far as it
went.
Perhaps their idea is based on the
book and TV series “Dopesick.” Every-
one involved with opioid pain manage-
ment needs to read or see it. It is totally
frightening.
I have taken opioids for pain all my life.
But never, ever more than prescribed, and
never any addiction. I am writing to the
family physician, hoping that group will
try to understand that people like me rely
on opioids occasionally.
My doctor trusts me. I have an open
prescription for 12 Vicodin tabs per pre-
scription. It will last me two months plus.
I am 82 years old. I play bridge twice a
week, and need a half a tablet of Vicodin
per session. The chairs at the senior center
can torture an aged back. No, Advil will
not produce pain-free sitting.
I’m an avid gardner. By 3 p.m. when I
quit, I need a half-tab of Vicodin if I am
to have comfort throughout the rest of
the day. If I am to enjoy a relatively pain-
free life, I need this opioid. I would gladly
try other painkillers, and I’ve let my doc-
tor know that. He has yet to suggest an
alternative.
If we can draft legislation to eradicate
OxyContin use and addiction and suicide,
I am its biggest supporter. But take care of
us, too.
DAVID TENNANT
Astoria
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
than 250 words and must include the
writer’s name, address and phone
number. You will be contacted to
confirm authorship. All letters are
subject to editing for space, gram-
mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
Wacko mess
D
ue to a lot of incorrect informa-
tion about the placement of waste/
fill by Big River Construction on our
lot at the corner of S.W. First Street and
S.W. Alder Avenue in Warrenton, we
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.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
ters, in person at 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
would like to offer anyone having ques-
tions the ability to contact us about the
wacko mess that occurred.
We believe flooding would still have
occurred had absolutely nothing been
done on our lot.
We would like to thank Big River
Construction for standing ready for
placement of a pipe to control the
flooding. Big River was exceptional in
trying to help us on this mess, for which
they had absolutely no responsibility.
The one correct thing was that Patty
and I will not be building the eight to
13 units in Warrenton we were working
on for the near future.
We also would like to thank all the
people who have contacted us with sup-
port during this mess. Thank you to the
longtime customer of mine who told
me he didn’t need to know any details,
because he knew from our past business
dealings that I always try to do the right
thing.
Please feel free to contact us at
rick@eyeofnewt.net, we have nothing
to hide.
RICK NEWTON
PATTY CAPLES
Warrenton