Page 4A East Oregonian Saturday, September 1, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW “We have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement.” — Sen. John McCain, in final statement before his death, released posthumously McCain might have been last of his kind erhaps nothing personifies the late Sen. John McCain better than this episode from his 2008 presidential campaign. At a campaign rally, a woman said she did not trust Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama because “he’s an Arab.” McCain, a Republican, quickly responded. “No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.” Ten years later, such civility and such accuracy seem uncommon. McCain, who died Saturday, August 25 of brain cancer at age 81, might have been the last of his kind. If so, that would be truly unfortunate. This is not to canonize McCain, or to immediately jump on the bandwagon for renaming the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain, as Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and others have proposed. McCain may well be deserving of that honor. But it’s too early to objectively assess his legacy. Indeed, that building where many U.S. senators have their offices is named after a Democratic senator from Georgia — Richard B. Russell, who served from 1933 to 1971 — whose segregationist views and strident opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be anathema to most people today. “The history books will be kind to John McCain because our country is so much better for his straight talk, P AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin Cindy McCain, wife of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lays her head on his cas- ket during a memorial service at the Arizona Capitol. common sense, maverick ways and passionate service,” said former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, who served in the Senate with McCain, though they did not always agree, and who now heads the National Association of Broadcasters. McCain, like the rest of us, was flawed. He made mistakes. But what he did with his life was extraordinary. A Navy aviator, his fidelity to the U.S. and his courage while a North Vietnamese prisoner of war became the stuff of legend. Elected to Congress in 1982, he was chosen by Arizonans four years later to succeed the equally legendary and erstwhile Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. McCain generally was conservative, but like Goldwater, he held broad views that defied simplistic labels. He teamed with Democrat Russ Feingold to successfully push campaign reform, only to have it partially undone by the courts. He ardently supported a strong U.S. military while tenaciously fighting pork-barrel spending by the Pentagon. He worked to restore U.S. Farewell, Pendleton YOUR VIEWS Searching for an immigration solution The issues of illegal immigration continue to plague our country. I have been employed in law enforcement for over 40 years, with much of that time spent in Umatilla and Morrow counties. Since I have been sheriff, I have been invited several times to visit the southern U.S. border to see first- hand the crime issues along the border states, issues of drug running, human trafficking, the extreme violence of the drug cartels and gangs. I’ve visited the ranches with little or no border security and spoke with the people who live there with the constant threat of armed violence. I’ve seen the evidence of the rapes, robberies and murders of the people who are victimized as they make their way to the United States. I’ve attended the daily briefings of the multi- agency task forces. Border sheriffs have an expression: “What happens at the border doesn’t stay at the border.” All the issues of drug smuggling, violence, human trafficking, illegal immigration and cartel expansion is carried throughout our country. Morrow County experiences diplomatic relations with Vietnam, the country that caused him so much pain. He was a leader on immigration reform, which Congress unwisely let fail. He took a chance on a little-known Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, choosing her as his vice presidential running mate. He voted to uphold Obamacare. And not to avoid the obvious, in recent times he defied President Donald Trump’s shallow disdain for him. Character, commitment and a maverick sensibility defined McCain. Let us remember his final words to Americans, released after his death. “… We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been. “We are 325 million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country, we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do. …” ne of the great priv- sure what I would find. As ileges of journal- the evergreen forests that ism is the opportu- have been so familiar to nity to become embedded me since childhood gave in the communities we way to the tawny color cover. At this point, we are of never-ending plains, I no longer tourists drop- experienced equal parts ping in on a town, but we and excitement. It Brittany nostalgia certainly seemed like a new become in-tune with the Norton adventure. issues, angst and victo- Comment ries felt within the public I once had a source ask atmosphere. It has been a me how I was adjusting to wonderful summer venturing into the culture in Pendleton. “Well, people wear cowboy hats Pendleton and learning about a small town on the other side of the every day, and that’s different,” I said. state. But as far as political When I first found out I was differences between my hometown offered an internship through the of Eugene, which is seemingly Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism, I visited liberal, and Pendleton, which is seemingly conservative, it didn’t my photojournalism professor’s seem like too much change at all. office to tell him the good news. As a journalist, I don’t talk It was still early in the selection about my political ideologies. I process and I didn’t know where just try to listen. But what I really I would be spending my summer noticed is that both places are yet. My professor mused that if made up of people, and that is the he were to receive one of these crux of it all. We are all imperfect internships, he would like to be humans who nonetheless have placed at a newspaper in a rural heart and soul. community. In a transforming country that “Wouldn’t it be cool to go to appears as if it becomes more a place where it’s normal to wear divisive every day, I remembered cowboy hats and boots every the one thing that binds us all day?” he asked. together is our own humanity. I “Yeah, I guess that would be once had a journalism professor pretty cool,” I thought to myself. tell me, “People are complicated.” Lo and behold, a couple weeks later I learned I would be interning And that’s the truth. So when it feels like red versus at the East Oregonian. blue, us versus them or East I’d never really been to Eastern versus West, it’s important to keep Oregon before. I’d driven through in mind that we all want to feel it on road trips to Utah and accepted, loved and important. Montana, but I never stopped to Thank you to the East see what this half of the state has Oregonian for allowing me to join to offer. During my time here, I often found myself wishing I were in on a summer I will never forget. And thank you to Pendleton for able to see the world through my photojournalism professor’s eyes. I offering friendly faces, kindness know that if he were here he would and open arms. Onwards. be able to take deeply moving ■ photographs of the little things that Brittany Norton was the summer make Pendleton. intern for the East Oregonian. When I left Eugene I wasn’t O the same type of issues other jurisdictions experience, except at a smaller scale. The large marijuana grows in south Morrow County were known to be controlled by the Mexican cartels here, too. Who is responsible for most of the blame for all these years of our broken immigration system? It’s not simple, but the bottom line is that both political parties are responsible. When the one party was in control, it was building, expanding, making money and finding labor. It was about new businesses, larger plants and where to find the labor force to fill those new fields Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. and factories. When the other party came to power it was about political clout. The political party was viewed as the party of the little people — the disadvantaged and the new arrivals. The immigrants who were able to get legal status and then citizenship if they were lucky leaned toward this political party. Our political divide grew as our parties traded the lead back and forth. Some states were becoming involved in the federal government issue of immigration law. The system has been allowed to go unfixed for so long that it appears to be unfixable. Next week, the White House has invited sheriffs from each state, including myself, to come and talk about their experiences on issues of immigration and how it has impacted their communities in their local jurisdictions. The president is expected to host the group and wants to hear from the sheriffs as he goes forward in finding solutions to our broken immigration system. Perhaps he may hear a few new ideas on working to repair our broken immigration system. Kenneth W. Matlack Morrow County Sheriff Irrigon 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. 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.