Wednesday, October 28, 2020
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Reach out
to those you
disagree with
T
oday’s edition of the Wallowa
County Chieftain is the last
one before next week’s general
election.
In any normal year, a week from
today we would know who will be
named president-elect. But 2020, of
course, has been anything but normal,
and with several states set to receive
ballots through the mail after Election
Day — some as many 20 days after
Nov. 3 — who the next leader of the
free world is may not be known for
some time.
What is known is this: no matter the
turnout, roughly half the nation will be
ecstatic, while the other half will pro-
claim doom and gloom.
It’s been clear for some time that
our nation is intensely divided, and
it seems the chasm is growing ever
wider. At least that is the way it is por-
trayed. To the left, Republicans are evil
and repugnant. To the right, Democrats
are evil and repugnant.
Both sides talk of needing to bring
the country back together, and they are
right. But it seems as though few solu-
tions are offered. Meanwhile, both
sides remain in their echo chambers,
unwilling (or unable) to extend an
olive branch to someone they disagree
with and begin a uniting work.
While it likely will take more
than just one action to bring us back
together, here is one simple step to try
as we move into — and past — the cli-
max of this election season:
Don’t be afraid to talk to someone
you disagree with.
And don’t focus solely on those
points of contention.
You are not going to agree on every
single point with an individual — even
with those who are on the same ‘side’
as yourself. But we as people have
become so focused on what divides us
that we shun what unites us — and that
is our common humanity. We all are
made in the image of God. In that, we
are all the same.
So rather than shut off the person on
the other side of the aisle, reach out to
them. Have a conversation with them.
Get coffee or a meal with them. Get to
know what makes them tick. Find out
what in their life has brought them to
believe the stances they take. Listen.
And seek to find common ground.
Rather than focus just on what
makes that individual a foe, find what
could make them a friend.
And rather than close your ears or
walk away when disagreements come
up, talk them through. Be open to learn
from another perspective. See if there
are points of agreement even within
dissensions.
You may change their mind or have
your mind changed. You may not.
But you’ll hopefully walk away with
an understanding of someone on the
other side, and perhaps a step closer to
them.
And even one step in the right direc-
tion can help close the rift in our
nation.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Invest in your kids, invest in your
school.
Heather Melville
Enterprise
School bond is an
investment in
Enterprise students
I was a shy little first-grader in 1985
and moving upstairs in the 3-story brick
beast we called school. Circa 1909, I
counted her missing bricks and founda-
tion cracks at recess. There were cracks
in the floor, cracks in the ceiling. The
third floor was strictly off limits. “You’ll
fall through the floor.” The old beast
was finally condemned. We moved to
six modular classrooms. I traded fear of
cracks for frigid, slippery runs down the
boardwalk to the bathroom.
I sit on the Enterprise School Board
now and think back to this memory.
Enterprise has shown pride and empha-
sized quality education and infrastruc-
ture for 102 years!
We cannot afford a $50 million new
building.
1. Should we ask added taxation on
hurting businesses?
2. When does the hospital levy come
off our tax roll? June 2021.
3. Last spring, kids weren’t even in
the building because of COVID. Eastern
Oregon superintendents lobbied ODE,
OHA and the governor to grant in-person
class for small districts.
4. Are there grants/outside money to
ease the burden? Yes. $4 million match-
ing OSCIM grant was secured. We are
No. 1 on the list for those funds now.
5. Is it good stewardship to leave a $4
million match on the table?
These are the sincere ponderings of
your school board over the bond mea-
sure. Vote YES for the school bond.
Let’s wisely maintain Enterprise schools.
Let’s remember we
are all Americans
I have a couple of political issues I
would like to address. The first is 32-003.
I personally think the commission-
ers have more important issues to spend
their time on than promoting moving the
boundary of Idaho to include Wallowa
County. The diversity of Oregon is what
makes this such a great state. I’ve lived in
Idaho and prefer living in Oregon. If peo-
ple think Idaho is a better place to live,
they are free to move there.
The second issue is President Trump’s
attack on Medicare for all. Does he real-
ize he just received the best socialized
medicine in the world for free at a 100%
government run hospital after he came
down with COVID? It would have been
interesting to see how he would have
fared if he had to go to a hospital com-
parable to the kind most Americans have
to use. He keeps talking about a great
replacement for the Obamacare, but he
has had four years to replace it, and he
still has not.
My third issue is our economy. The
stock market is doing great but, but the
economy is not. They are not the same
thing.
My last issue is that I question a sys-
tem that enables billionaires to become
nearly $1 trillion richer during a global
pandemic but refuses to raise the wages
for those at the bottom. The federal min-
imum wage has been $7.25 for the last
EDITORIALS: Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Wallowa County Chieftain editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of
the Wallowa County Chieftain.
LETTERS: The Wallowa County Chieftain 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
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Editor, Ronald Bond, rbond@wallowa.com
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10 years.
Let’s remember we are all Ameri-
cans and we need to come together after
this election no matter who wins. This
country has become too divided. Let’s
love our neighbor and help each other.
We have more in common than we have
differences.
Rusty Hogg
Enterprise
Thatcher has shown ability
to cross party lines
I write this letter in support of Kim
Thatcher for secretary of state. Although I
am a registered Libertarian, I am crossing
party lines and will vote for Kim Thatcher
enthusiastically.
Throughout her political career, I have
seen Kim Thatcher cross party lines to
listen to different ideas, work with the
people who hold them, and frequently
accommodate their priorities (even when
she does not share them) in the interests
of good civics. These qualities are hall-
marks of a great secretary of state and are
especially important now because of the
divisive nature of today’s politics.
As the late Dennis Richardson proved,
a Republican can serve constructively in
a Democratic state like Oregon for the
good of us all. Party labels notwithstand-
ing, Kim Thatcher’s brand of nonparti-
san governance is what will bring Orego-
nians closer together, making it possible
to resume building on the best of what
we are. For these reasons, I urge every-
one across all party lines to vote Kim
Thatcher for secretary of state.
Richard P. Burke
Tigard
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