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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, April 25, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor EO MEDIA GROUP East Oregonian • The Daily Astorian • Capital Press • Hermiston Herald Blue Mountain Eagle • Wallowa County Chieftain • Chinook Observer • Coast River Business Journal Oregon Coast Today • Coast Weekend • Seaside Signal • Cannon Beach Gazette Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide • Eastern Oregon Marketplace • Coast Marketplace OnlyAg.com • FarmSeller.com • Seaside-Sun.com • NorthwestOpinions.com • DiscoverOurCoast.com MIKE FORRESTER Pendleton Chairman of the Board STEVE FORRESTER Astoria President TOM BROWN Bigfork, Mont. Director KATHRYN B. BROWN Pendleton Secretary/Treasurer JEFF ROGERS Indianapolis, Ind. Director OUR VIEW Addiction the base for lots of tragedy According to Dwight Holton, own nature. They lie and cheat and many modern tragedies begin with embezzle and burgle and assault an addiction. and kill. They get stuck in a cycle of Crime, mental health breakdowns, depression and broken relationships. even suicide and homicide can often There is literally nothing good that be traced back to a pill or a poison comes from it. — some brains are just wired to be So how can the state reduce susceptible to outside inÀuence. And the number of people laid low by many of the systems of care and prescription pills? Holton’s plan is punishment our society has in place to reduce the number of prescribed don’t do much to get to the root of but unnecessary opioids. Currently, the problem, or save people who are 100 million such pills are prescribed in danger of hurting themselves or in Oregon each year. He also others. wants more places Holton is a former where patients can federal prosecutor dispose of unused Crime, and Oregon’s U.S. medicines. In mental health addition, Holton attorney. In that line of work, by sees the bene¿t of breakdowns, the time he got better treatment even suicide and and less-addictive involved it was too late. Someone had of the homicide can versions already been hurt, medication. bad decisions had There is lots to often be traced been made, lives had talk through and back to a pill been impacted for plenty to think the worse. about, which is why or poison. In 2014 he took Holton is taking his over as director of crew on the road. Lines for Life, a Portland-based They met Friday in La Grande, the nonpro¿t that has twin goals of ¿rst discussion to kick off the ¿rst preventing substance abuse and phase of identifying best practices suicide. He wanted to get involved across the state. early, to prevent the bad decisions We realize it is a root issue that in the ¿rst place. And while might leads to all kinds of rotten social seem at ¿rst glance that substance ills, and agree with Holton that time abuse and suicide are different and money spent up front will save threats, Holton said they are nearly us even more down the road — always interwined. including a society In the course fewer broken Addiction can with of that work, he lives and families. quickly realized There is no cause people to that the major easy answer to do terrible things the problem of source of substance abuse problems in prescriptions drugs. outside their Oregon come from Science continues own nature. prescription pills. to learn more They kill more about addiction, Oregonians than and continues to all illegal drugs — hundreds a year. ¿ne tune medicines that reduce the Holton said a major factor may be likelihood they will be misused. that Oregonians think prescription One simple way to start is to pills are safer than they actually realize how dangerous prescription are. We think heck: these things are opioids can be. Use them only when legal, they are given to me by my necessary, discard them when you’re doctor and they make me feel better. through, and if you think you have a What’s the downside? problem get help immediately. Lines Addiction can cause people for Life (call the helpline at 1-800- to do terrible things outside their 923-4357) is a great place to start. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS T Love and merit here are two great de¿ning themselves. features of child-rearing today. On the one hand, many of First, children are now praised to the parents in these families are an unprecedented degree. As Dorothy extremely close to their children. Parker once joked, American children They communicate constantly. But aren’t raised; they are incited. They the whole situation is fraught. These are given food, shelter and applause. parents unconsciously regard their That’s a thousand times more true children as an arts project and insist today. Children are incessantly told their children go to colleges and have David how special they are. Brooks jobs that will give the parents status The second de¿ning feature is that and pleasure — that will validate their Comment children are honed to an unprecedented effectiveness as dads and moms. degree. The meritocracy is more Meanwhile, children who are competitive than ever before. Parents are uncertain of their parents’ love develop a more anxious about their kids getting into voracious hunger for it. This conditional love good colleges and onto good career paths. is like an acid that dissolves children’s internal Parents spend much more time than in past criteria to make their own decisions about generations investing in their own colleges, majors their children’s skills and and careers. At key decision- résumés and driving them to points, they unconsciously practices and rehearsals. imagine how their parents These two great will react. They guide their trends — greater praise and lives by these imagined greater honing — combine reactions and respond with in intense ways. Children hair-trigger sensitivity to are bathed in love, but it any possibility of coldness is often directional love. or distancing. Parents shower their kids These children tell with affection, but it is their parents those things meritocratic affection. It that will elicit praise and is intermingled with the hide the parts of their lives desire to help their children that won’t. Studies by achieve worldly success. Avi Assor, Guy Roth and Very frequently it is manipulative. Parents Edward L. Deci suggest that children who unconsciously shape their smiles and frowns receive conditional love often do better in to steer their children toward behavior they the short run. They can be model students. think will lead to achievement. Parents glow But they suffer in the long run. They come to with extra fervor when their child studies hard, resent their parents. They are so inÀuenced practices hard, wins ¿rst place, gets into a by fear that they become risk averse. They prestigious college. lose a sense of agency. They feel driven by This sort of love is merit based. It is not internalized pressures more than by real simply: I love you. It is, I love you when you freedom of choice. They feel less worthy as stay on my balance beam. I shower you with adults. praise and care when you’re on my beam. Parents two generations ago were much The wolf of conditional love is lurking more likely to say that they expected their in these homes. The parents don’t perceive children to be more obedient than parents this; they feel they love their children in all today. But this desire for obedience hasn’t circumstances. But the children often perceive gone away; it’s just gone underground. Parents things differently. are less likely to demand obedience with Children in such families come to feel that explicit rules and lectures. But they are more childhood is a performance — on the athletic likely to use love as a tool to exercise control. ¿eld, in school and beyond. They come to feel The culture of the meritocracy is incredibly that love is not something that they deserve powerful. Parents desperately want happiness because of who they intrinsically are but is for their children and naturally want to steer something they have to earn. them toward success in every way they can. But the pressures of the meritocracy can These children begin to assume that this sometimes put this love on a false basis. merit-tangled love is the natural order of The meritocracy is based on earned the universe. The tiny glances of approval success. It is based on talent and achievement. and disapproval are built into the fabric of But parental love is supposed to be communication so deep that they Àow under oblivious to achievement. It’s meant to be an the level of awareness. But they generate unconditional support — a gift that cannot be enormous internal pressure, the assumption bought and cannot be earned. It sits outside the that it is necessary to behave in a certain way logic of the meritocracy, the closest humans to be worthy of love — to be self-worthy. come to grace. The shadowy presence of conditional love Ŷ produces a fear, the fear that there is no utterly David Brooks became a New York Times safe love; there is no completely secure place Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. where young people can be utterly honest and Some children feel love is not something they deserve because of who they are, but is something they must earn. YOUR VIEWS Moore’s story moved city manager I read with interest the letter to the editor submitted by Mr. Cronin, “BMCC opens the doors to opportunities.” I found it particularly interesting in the end when I discovered that he was writing about a girl’s college basketball player that my wife and I have learned to enjoy watching. We were very pleased to learn some time ago she was offered the scholarship to the U of O. Now learning of her past struggles and overcoming obstacles we are even happier for the success she has achieved, supported by our local college. I have told my younger children they will grow up to be 7imberwolves. 6el¿shly, I hope they too will be playing basketball and/or baseball. This is not a letter in support or against the bond measure. As a professional administrator for the city of Pendleton, I am required that I refrain from being publicly active in campaigns. It is, however, an opportunity for me to say how I respect Mr. Cronin’s ability to use the written word to move people. Frankly, the letter you submitted was beautiful and I thank you for sharing it. Robb Corbett Pendleton Bedford Bridge ban poorly thought out Until recently, hardly anyone in Pendleton had heard of Bedford Bridge and even fewer knew it was a favorite hangout for congregations engaged in alleged wrongful behavior. I believe Chief Roberts has uttered unprovable statements. When you have a small police force nestled in a area where there are more chickens and cows than people, there is not much to do beyond staying awake. You want to enhance your image as real crime ¿ghters. There is a temptation to create crimes to bust. Furthermore, the ordinance is poorly thought out and drafted. It does not limit the number of people who may gather together. It says they shall not do certain things. Consequently, 50 persons may huddle up if they don’t alarm and annoy. How about the Round-Up and Pendleton’s numerous parades? Are the cops prepared to arrest 10,000 people for jamming the sidewalks? Let’s forget that this proposal came up. Chief Roberts ought to petition the city council to prohibit UFOs from buzzing Pendleton airspace. John Shippentower Pendleton Demonstrated need for Hermiston seniors Three things are happening in the Hermiston area that are indicative of the need for a growing senior center in the very near and far future. 1. The “Silver Tsunami.” Many of the baby boomers are still working and have yet to take advantage of senior services in the area. As they retire and start to collect their Social Security, they will look to the community for their special needs. Economists say that the baby boomers are moving through the economy as if a boa constrictor swallowed an elephant. The “Silver Tsunami” is here and about to explode. 2. The growth forecasts for the immediate area are huge. Hermiston is one of the fastest growing areas in the state of Oregon, and has been for several years. Again, the aging population will draw heavily on senior service needs. 3. After the new center is built, the present agreement is that seniors are in complete control for the ¿rst ¿ve years. After that, the city will join in the management and the purposing of the center, which could include many activities for the greater population, such children’s programs and other purposes. At the that time, the community will most certainly have the desire to expand the existing facilities. The Hermiston Senior Center Board unanimously selected the site at Northeast Fourth and Aspen Drive to meet these goals. Our LETTERS POLICY seniors and community deserve a well planned center looking far into the future. Irene Miller, chairman Hermiston Senior Center Vote Plass for BMCC board of education I strongly support Susan Plass, an outstanding candidate for the Zone 7 position on the Blue Mountain Community College Board of Education. Retired from her accomplished career pursuing grant opportunities for BMCC, Susan understands the economic and social issues facing the board. Her stated goal is to work to promote student success, community engagement, and ¿scal responsibility at BMCC. Susan is knowledgeable and experienced, and she would be an extremely effective member of the BMCC board. Please vote for Susan Plass. Susan Badger Doyle Pendleton The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
