Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Clemency for
the Hammonds,
withdrawal for
the protesters
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The case of Dwight and Stephen
Hammond is a tragedy, both because militancy.
So should the rest of rural
of what they did and how they have
America.
been treated since.
We struggle to understand what
Ranchers in Oregon’s Harney
they hope to accomplish. Their action
County, father and son have a long
does nothing for the Hammonds,
history of disputes with the Bureau
the ranchers they allegedly came to
of Land Management over grazing
town to support. Their stated goal
allotments. Dwight Hammond was
of holding their position until the
convicted of one count related to a
federal government returns the land
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to private ownership is at best a
land in 2006. Stephen Hammond
delusional hope, and does nothing
was convicted of one count related
to resolve the real
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issues.
a separate count
This desperate
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The Hammonds
action allows
2001.
received a fair critics to describe
The Hammonds
complaints
received a fair trial
trial and were these
to urban America
and were found
found guilty ... as the farcical rants
guilty. Many believe
armed militia,
they had just cause
and the original of
dubbed “yeehadists”
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trial court
by CNN.
and deserved no
The federal
punishment even if
handed down government
holds
they had technically
broken the law. The
fair, and lenient, title to massive
parcels of public
jury in a Pendleton
sentences.
lands throughout the
courtroom found
West. That’s been
otherwise, and
settled law for a
the original trial
hundred years. Many would like that
court handed down fair, and lenient,
land turned over to the states, as was
sentences.
the case with much of the federal
In addition to lengthy probation,
land east of the Rockies.
Dwight Hammond received six
The real question is how that land
months in prison, his son one year.
should be managed and how grazing
The original prison sentences have
and natural resource extraction
been served.
will remain viable and part of the
But those sentences ignored
multiple use doctrine that historically
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governed public lands.
sentence prescribed by the federal
Government policy once
arson statute. The government
fostered the timber, livestock and
appealed, the sentences were
mining industries that became the
overturned and the trial court
economic lifeblood of rural Western
ordered the Hammonds to serve
communities. Current policy — the
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result of environmental lawsuits and
sentences.
regulatory and legislative changes
We are not fans of mandatory
— is largely responsible for draining
sentencing guidelines that deny
that lifeblood.
judges discretion in considering
We understand the protesters’
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frustration with the federal
punishment. Resentencing the
government. We recognize their right
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to peacefully protest and lawfully
mandatory sentence, though
exercise their Second Amendment
unquestionably legal under statute,
rights.
was an injustice.
But we disagree with their
The Hammonds have reported to
interpretations of the Constitution
prison. They intend to ask President
and these tactics.
Obama for clemency.
The remedy to these grievances
We think they should receive it.
will not come from armed
In recent months the president
confrontation, or other extralegal
has moved to free federal prisoners
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convicted of drug charges and
serving lengthy mandatory sentences constitutional theories.
Instead, we trust the tools
that he has deemed unjust and overly
provided by the Founders — the
punitive given the circumstances of
ballot box, the legislative process, the
their crimes.
courts.
That’s the same standard the
The constraints on ranchers,
original trial judge used in the case
timbermen and miners are real.
of the Hammonds. The punishment
Any hope of getting a legislative
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Mr. President, free the Hammonds. solution that accommodates both
conservation goals and traditional
***
livelihoods will require reasoned
Meanwhile, back in Harney
debate and the empathy of urban
County, armed protesters who failed
voters and legislators.
to provoke a shooting war with
The armed occupation of a lonely
federal agents during a standoff at a
federal wildlife refuge in the wilds of
ranch in Nevada have brought their
Oregon will only hurt that effort.
show to Southern Oregon. Local
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
The world of small terrors
O
These liberal assumptions have
n New Year’s Eve some friends
been challenged from the top for
and family members had a
years — by dictators. But now they
drink at a bar in Tel Aviv. The
are challenged from the bottom, by
next day a gunman shot up the place,
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killing two people and wounding at
the National Front in France, UKIP
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in Britain, Viktor Orban in Hungary,
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Vladimir Putin in Russia and, in some
there was no special emotion caused
guises, Donald Trump in the U.S.
by the proximity 16 hours before.
David
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These days, we all live at risk of
Brooks
meant one of the most important
random terror, whether we are in
Comment
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Paris, San Bernardino, Boston or Fort
who support an open society
Hood. Many of us have
and those who support a
had brushes with these
closed society. Back in the
sorts of attacks. It’s partly
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randomness that determines
withering of borders was all
whether you happen to be in
the rage, but now parts of
the wrong spot at the wrong
the left embrace closed trade
time.
policies and parts of the
But there is something
right embrace closed cultural
important about the
and migration policies.
accumulation of these
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random killing sprees — the
been most noticeable
way it affects the social
on the right. Classically
psychology and the culture
liberal conservatives are in
we all inhabit. We are living
retreat, as voters look for
in the age of small terror.
strongmen who will close
In Israel, there’s the
borders and stultify the
wave of stabbings. In this
demographic and social
country we have shooting
sprees in schools and in theaters. In cities there fabric. It’s too soon to tell if the Republican
Party will have fewer evangelical voters this
are police killings. In other places there are
year, but the tenor of debate has certainly
suicide bombings. This violence is the daily
been less Christian — less charitable, less
diet of the global news channels.
hospitable to the stranger.
Many of the attacks have religious or
It’s up to us who believe in open society to
political overtones. But there’s always a
wage an intellectual counterattack. This can’t
psychological element, too. Some young
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adults have separated from their parents but
free choice and the natural harmony among
they have not developed an independent self
peoples. You can’t beat moral fanaticism with
of their own. In order to escape the terror of
weak tea moral relativism.
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You can only beat it with commitment
few commit to some fanatical belief system.
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they make deep moral commitments. The
will give their life shape, meaning and glory.
Creeds like radical Islam offer the illusion that danger comes when they are fanatically and
monopolistically committed to only one thing.
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The pluralist is committed to a philosophy
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7KHVHVHOIPRWLYDWHGDWWDFNVKDYHEHFRPH or faith, but also to an ethnicity and also to
a city, and also to a job and also to diverse
a worldwide social contagion. These diverse
interests and fascinating foreign cultures.
acts of small terror have combined to create a
These different commitments balance and
general state of anxiety.
moderate one another. A life in diverse worlds
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with diverse people weaves together into one
threat, but anxiety is an unfocused corrosive
humane, multifaceted existence. The rigidity
uneasiness. In the age of small terror this
of one belief system is forced to confront
anxiety induces a sense that the basic systems
the messiness of work relationships or a
of authority are not working, that those in
neighborhood association.
charge are not keeping people safe.
The anxiety caused by small terror can
People are more likely to have a
produce nasty mental habits. Mental resilience
background sense that life is nastier and more
becomes as important as physical resilience.
precarious — red in tooth and claw. They pull
in the tribal walls and distrust the outsider. This That means remaking the case for open
society, open cultures and a basic commitment
anxiety makes everybody a little less humane.
to moral pluralism. Openness is worth the
In country after country this anxiety
occasional horror fanatics cause.
is challenging the liberal order. I mean
Ŷ
philosophic Enlightenment liberalism, not
David Brooks’s column on the Op-Ed page
partisan liberalism. It’s the basic belief in
of The New York Times started in September
open society, free speech, egalitarianism and
meliorism (gradual progress). It’s a belief
2003. He has been a senior editor at The
that through reasoned conversation values
Weekly Standard, a contributing editor at
cohere and fanaticism recedes. It’s the belief
Newsweek and the Atlantic Monthly, and he is
that people of all creeds merit tolerance and
currently a commentator on “The Newshour
respect.
with Jim Lehrer.”
Fear is an
emotion
directed at a
specific threat,
but anxiety is
an unfocused
corrosive
uneasiness.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representative
Ron Wyden
Greg Walden
Washington office:
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Washington office:
185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
La Grande office: 541-624-2400
Jeff Merkley
Washington office:
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Senator
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
Representatives
Greg Barreto, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-38
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.GregBarreto@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
LETTERS POLICY
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. The newspaper
reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and
products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. 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. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send
letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
or email editor@eastoregonian.com.