Wednesday, October 27, 2021
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Follow the
FFA into
the light
I
f you follow the news, it’s easy to
feel a bit dispirited — the pandemic,
inflation, political discord.
But, sometimes there’s an item that
provides a bit of much-needed light.
The National FFA Convention and
Expo returned to Indianapolis this
week as a live event, having been con-
ducted virtually last year because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. What could be
more uplifting than thousands of positive
young people gathering to celebrate their
achievements and affirm their future?
When EO Media Group editorialized
on the FFA convention in 2011, it was
the height of the “Occupy Wall Street”
protests. Occupy movement protest-
ers believed large banks, corporations
and the wealthiest 1% of Americans are
working in concert against the economic
interests of the remaining 99%. Pro-
tests in a number of cities devolved into
criminality.
A lot has happened since the FFA last
met in person. We are struck by the sim-
ilarities between 2011 and the year just
past. Actors of all stripes have partici-
pated in “peaceful protests” that have
strained comity and have run counter to
the country’s founding principles.
We find that what we said compar-
ing FFA’ers and protesters in 2011 also
applies today.
“The conventioneers have not
encamped in the public square. They
have not disrupted the flow of traffic or
commerce. They have not defecated on
police cars. They have not defaced any
public or private property.
“They have made no demands on the
government, or on any other person or
institution. Their creed places the onus
for their own happiness and success on
themselves. They are self-reliant and
self-determined.
“They understand that success is not a
zero-sum game, that one person’s pros-
perity does not come at the expense of
another’s. They understand that their
success is proportionate to the sweat and
toil they themselves exert.
“They do not dwell on that which they
cannot do, or on those things that they
do not have. They seek to always better
themselves.
“They know that the American dream
is alive, and is born by one’s deeds not
by one’s demands on others.”
Follow their lead and your faith will
be restored.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Action, not wishes, are the
solution to climate change
I wish the climate was not chang-
ing. I wish there was no drought causing
gigantic wildfires to burn forests, range-
lands, houses and towns. I wish the polar
ice was not melting, causing wildlife to
be decimated and raising the ocean lev-
els endangering our coastlines. I wish the
ocean temperatures were not becoming
too warm to sustain fish and sea creatures.
I wish the hurricanes and tornadoes along
the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico
were not becoming worse, causing almost
total destruction across huge areas. I wish
we did not need to be concerned about
snowpack in the Wallowas. I wish mil-
lions of refugees around the world were
not desperately trying to escape starvation
and the ruin of their homelands.
In a conversation last week, I
expressed concern about the changing cli-
mate and was met with the typical put-
down: “Oh, well, the climate has always
changed ... there was the ice age ...” and
“it doesn’t mean that humans are respon-
sible for the changing climate.”
Being a former teacher, I started to
explain the scientific facts involved and
that the preponderance of scientists say
that the changing climate is due to human
behavior. But I stopped and went on
about my business because I was obvi-
ously being ignored.
So I am sad, not because someone will
not listen to me, but because too many
people refuse to pay attention to scien-
tists. Last week, three scientists in their
80s and 90s were awarded the Nobel
Prize in physics. They had spent their
lives studying and observing climate
change and a variety of scientific disci-
plines and related their observations to
human behavior.
Almost all credible scientists under-
stand and share their knowledge about
climate change and that because some of
those issues are caused by human behav-
ior, some can be changed by humans.
There are some changes we can make
so that the planet can sustain life beyond
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 right to withhold
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SEND LETTERS TO: editor@wallowa.com, or via mail to
Wallowa County Chieftain, 209 NW 1st St. Enterprise, OR
97828
2050. I have made some changes in my
personal lifestyle and I am willing to
continue to accept more changes. But
it would take everyone to be willing to
make changes in their lives, not just a
few, for our great-grandchildren to have
air to breathe, clean water to drink and
agriculture to sustain life.
Wishing it were not true is not a solu-
tion. An unsubstantiated belief that cli-
mate change is unreal does not keep it
from happening. It is late, but we can
save our planet if we get to work. Please
do not take my word for it. Read and find
out for yourselves.
Evelyn Swart
Joseph
River Democracy Act is
another government land
grab
Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merk-
ley have cosponsored this bill which has
the potential to add 4,700 miles of Ore-
gon waterways to the Wild and Sce-
nic Rivers list. This would be the length
of the Mighty Mississippi and Missouri
combined. Yes, this would be quite a
remarkable achievement, but it needs to
be asked, “Is this necessary”?
What more protection is needed? Our
public lands, which include these water-
ways are protected by numerous govern-
ment agencies that are aided by countless
NGOs (nongovernment organizations).
No project moves forward without an
approval stamp from the NGOs (to name
just a few — Nature Conservancy, Wild
Earth Guardians, Oregon Natural Des-
ert Association or Center for Biological
Diversity). Just recently, the Center for
Biological Diversity used its weapon of
relentless lawsuits to halt a project in the
Ochoco National Forest. These extrem-
ist NGOs use litigation as a very effective
“tool of intimidation.”
Access and utilization of the natural
resources our public lands provide has
decreased with the Wilderness Act and
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. We have rid-
den a wave of continued land grabs under
the guise of preserving natural conditions.
The River Democracy Act is one of
the most abusive overrides we have wit-
nessed, plus it’s an insult to what “wild
and scenic” was intended, “protection and
enhancement of outstanding remarkable
values.” Protections exist presently.
D.M. Ballard
Baker City
Heartbroken by
unwelcome feeling
My family lives in Wallowa County,
has for 100-plus years. It’s always been
home. I loved the small town feel. Peo-
ple were kind and welcoming. Even if
I hadn’t been in the county in years I
always felt welcome.
In the last few years I have not felt
welcome. I don’t want to visit. Going into
businesses I get dirty looks and sassy atti-
tudes. I always shop local. It’s hard when
you are not welcome. Your lack of recog-
nition doesn’t mean I am not a local; that
I don’t belong.
Everyone seems to hate the tourists.
Without them businesses would die. I
used to invite my friends to visit. I no lon-
ger do. I don’t want them treated poorly.
Recently in Joseph, I ordered pizza,
went to pick it up. My nieces were with
me. It was busy. No big deal, we were
not in a hurry, just happy we didn’t have
to cook. We patiently waited, wearing
masks. Everyone in there was giving us
dirty looks. We clearly didn’t “belong.”
The server was rude. We got our piz-
zas and left. In the car my niece asked,
“why were those people looking at us like
that?”
That broke my heart. This isn’t an
isolated experience. I have sisters who
would live in the county, but hate the way
local people treat them. It’s awful to see
the way things are going. Maybe it’s too
late, but I can hope for change.
Deb Kale
Pasco, Washington
Published every Wednesday by: EO Media Group
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
Member Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
VOLUME 134
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P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
Contents copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
General Manager, Karrine Brogoitti, kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
Editor, Ronald Bond, rbond@wallowa.com
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