KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Actions
speak
louder
than words
S
tate lawmakers said all the right
things during a forum at the East-
ern Oregon Economic Summit
in Hermiston last week, including
vowing to cooperate with each other
and try to eliminate partisanship.
Those vows should be good news for
voters but unfortunately talk, at least in
this modern political era — is cheap.
Making bold promises to work
together and making a big show regard-
ing cooperation makes for good theater
but it only takes a single flash-point
issue — just pick one as they are legion
now — and all the smiling pledges will
vanish like wheat dust in an Umatilla
County wheat field during harvest.
Frankly, voters have heard it all
before and what usually occurs is —
after assurances of bipartisanship —
yet another political dog fight that gets
no one anywhere but placates only
the lunatic fringe of both parties.
The bottom line is voters in this state —
and in Eastern Oregon — deserve better.
They deserve lawmakers who can
put aside the bellowing rhetoric of the
fanatics in each party. Lawmakers who
can find a middle ground, regardless
of how controversial a particular issue
may be, and move things forward.
Walking out of a legislative session isn’t
productive. Yet, neither is political bully-
ing by a majority party in a blind obedi-
ence to views and policies that work for
only a select few. Neither one is democ-
racy. Both are symptoms of a far more
insidious disease that haunts our great
Republic now. A malady rooted in prej-
udice, misinformation and the ambi-
tions of individuals who do not have the
best interests of the Republic in their
hearts. Individuals who tap into a general
angst perpetrated by TV personalities
who care only for growing size of their
paychecks, not what is best for democracy.
We are a great nation that is capa-
ble of so many great things, but you
wouldn’t know it by glancing back over
the past few years at the American polit-
ical arena. Instead of reasoned, produc-
tive political discourse, we’ve been a
captive audience to riots, scandals and
outlandish federal spending. As much
as Americans like a good spectacle, at
some point the one-trick pony of parti-
sanship becomes just yet another bizarre
— and meaningless — circus act.
Lawmakers in this state need to back
up their lofty words of unity and cooper-
ation. That means they must do so with
not just the countless minor legislative
issues that arise, but also on the contro-
versial themes that can quickly divide.
EDITORIALS
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.
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of 400 words or less on public issues and public
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Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
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or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Unfettered access to firearms
means none of us are truly free
ALEX
HOBBS
PASTURES OF PLENT Y
he first active shooter drill
my oldest son participated in
occurred when he was 3 years old.
He was enrolled in an all-day child
care center on my college campus
and each morning we would cut a
swathe through the Willamette Valley
fog, hand in hand, his penguin back-
pack strapped to his tiny frame. The
contents of this little bag consisted of
his blankie, a pull-up in case of acci-
dents at nap time and various trinkets
that appeal only to the littlest among
us. Belongings to tether him back home
where things are known and safe.
On drill day, as I did every day, I
lingered outside the classroom viewing
window savoring the marvel of watch-
ing your child interact with the wider
world without your presence. During
those moments it is entirely unthinkable
that they could be halted by anything
other than the marching of time.
I was not notified the drill would be
taking place, and had I not dressed my
son in the shirt he was wearing that day,
I am not sure I would have ever known.
“Teacher L and I were laughing today
about Jack’s shirt,” Teacher D told me
as I completed the checkout process.
My son was bent over the table at the
door signing himself out; a blocky, left-
T
handed scrawl appeared across the page.
She explained that afternoon the
entire class of 3- and 4-year-olds
huddled together on the food prep
room floor in pitch black. The objec-
tive: to practice how to respond in the
event of an active shooter. But during
this drill, glowing in the darkness,
was an inconceivably tiny shirt dotted
with planets and stars. My son’s shirt.
They had laughed because the only
thing that could be seen in that room
was my toddler’s illuminated chest.
That evening, after dinners and baths
and books, I gathered the day’s laun-
dry. As I worked my way through the
load, I finally arrived at the shirt. The
one that shone out of the dark. I would
not take that shirt from the washing
machine that evening or fold it come
morning. Instead, I would think of the
20 children murdered in their class-
rooms at Sandy Hook Elementary
just months prior and throw it away.
Years later, as a sixth grade teacher,
taped to the wall behind my desk is
a sign instructing what to do in vari-
ous states of emergency. It ranges from
evacuation to lockout, to lockdown.
The signal could arrive during math
or reading, but inevitably the words
“lockdown: locks, lights, out of sight,”
pour into our classroom from over-
head. The kids already know what to
do. I hear the dull scraping of chair legs
moving across the carpet, the hurried
shuffle of feet. Someone has flipped
the panel of light switches off. Another
has removed the magnet from the door
frame and I can hear the other doors
slam shut in the hallway. A morbid
drumbeat. The kids pack themselves
tightly into the corner beyond the line
of sight from the door window. I join
them with my radio, knees to chest.
Soon the safety resource officer comes
and rattles the door handle. It’s locked.
Some students jump, others crack jokes.
A coping mechanism in a world that
has spiraled beyond their control.
This year, more American children
have been shot and killed at school
than law enforcement officers in the
line of duty. In an April 20 letter writ-
ten to the New England Journal of
Medicine, a group of doctors from the
University of Michigan pointed out
that firearms are now the leading cause
of death in children and adolescents.
I won’t pretend to deny the compli-
cated equation that has delivered us
to this current moment. But this is not
simply a question of godlessness (Japan
would like a word regarding their gun
violence rates and religious adherence),
or lack of access to adequate mental
health care. Yes, people kill people.
But those people are able to kill more
people, more efficiently, when they have
virtually unfettered access to firearms.
This is a fact. And as long as this is a
fact, none of us, especially the most
innocent among us are truly free.
———
Alex Hobbs is a former educator turned
full-time homeschooling mom. She has a
degree in political science from Oregon
State University.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
REPRESENTATIVES
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us