Wallowa.com
OPINION
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
A5
The sacred gift of self-determination
ON LIBERTY
Devin Patton
T
he concept of self-determination is a
radical one. Our ability to self-deter-
mine — to make choices to manage
our own lives — is one of the main things that
sets us apart from animals, whose behavior is
dictated mostly by instinct.
The brand of classical liberalism that our
nation’s Founders embraced sought to free
individuals to pursue opportunity wherever it
might lead, and their high regard for individ-
ual sovereignty is clearly demonstrated in the
language of our founding documents. This
ideal was also one the Founders lived out per-
sonally, whether as entrepreneurs, soldiers
and public servants, or simply as folks who
sought to be the best versions of themselves.
Americans have always placed a high value
on our right to self-determine, but do our lives
refl ect a deep appreciation for it?
At the time of the American Revolution,
our nation was the fi rst of its kind to attempt
to institute a government whose main pur-
pose would be to protect the people’s right to
self-determination. Until that time, nations
around the world generally had societal struc-
tures based on a caste system, a form of social
stratifi cation developed to separate groups of
people and justify diff erent treatment and liv-
ing standards. Under a caste system, a per-
son’s opportunities in life, from jobs to mar-
riage to education, are all determined before
birth, and there are few ways by which to
break out of the caste one is born into.
Unlike nations with caste systems, Amer-
ica has a rich history of embracing the idea
of “making a better life” for oneself — we
love a good underdog story. Immigrants have
fl ocked to our country because of our reputa-
tion as “the land of opportunity.” We can read
the countless stories of people like Cornelius
Vanderbilt, former Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi
(an immigrant from India) and Oprah Win-
frey to understand how a society based on
class mobility and capitalism has led to vast
improvements in the lives of people that oth-
erwise would have been resigned to a life of
poverty and shame.
It’s important to recognize, though, that the
value of individual sovereignty goes beyond
simply improving one’s standard of living.
Accumulating material goods for one’s own
personal enjoyment is not the best use of our
ability to self-determine; we put it to best use
when we strive for moral improvement. Ben-
jamin Franklin serves as a premier example
of a man who endeavored to develop his own
character, and it is from him I hope we can all
take inspiration.
Franklin was the son of a candlemaker,
born into a poor family (one of 17 children)
and received only two years of formal school-
ing. As a youngster, he was a bit impetuous;
he enjoyed humiliating opponents during
arguments and had a bit of a rebellious streak.
Fortunately, we know him as a successful
author, philosopher and diplomat, as well
as one of the Founders of our great nation.
His infl uence on American culture cannot be
overstated. Benjamin Franklin attributed his
own success in life to adherence to a character
development plan that he produced in 1726 at
the age of only 20. His plan identifi ed 13 vir-
tues: temperance, silence, order, resolution,
frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moder-
ation, cleanliness, chastity, tranquility and
humility, and over the course of his life he dil-
igently sought to develop these virtues. In his
later years he stated, “On the whole, though I
never arrived at the perfection I had been so
ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of
it, yet as I was, by the endeavor, a better and
happier man than I otherwise should have
been had I not attempted it.”
For Franklin, self-determination was not
an end unto itself, nor did he seek solely to
obtain material goods or make a name for
himself as an inventor or wealthy landowner.
He demonstrated a deep “devotion to egali-
tarianism, education, industry, thrift, honesty,
temperance, charity and community spirit,”
Walter Isaacson wrote in his 2003 book “Ben-
jamin Franklin: An American Life.” Frank-
lin’s commitment to living a virtuous life
not only changed the course of our nation, it
also infl uenced the lives of those closest to
him and gave his life immense meaning and
happiness.
When I think about the “Blessings of Lib-
erty” and the concept of self-determination
that underpins America’s government, cul-
tural, and economic systems, I have to admit
that I often do not honor this sacred gift. The
ability to alter the course of one’s future is
incredibly powerful, and yet I (and perhaps
you as well) often take it for granted. I do
not relentlessly seek to develop my charac-
ter, and it’s far too easy for me to simply pass
off my character fl aws as “personality traits,”
or lay the blame on others if I “rub them
the wrong way.” Eleanor Roosevelt rightly
stated, “Freedom makes a huge requirement
of every human being. With freedom comes
responsibility. For the person who is unwill-
ing to grow up, the person who does not want
to carry his own weight, this is a frightening
prospect.”
I hope we can continually look to people
like Ben Franklin and be encouraged to be
the kind of people who honor the gift of indi-
vidual sovereignty and are also faithful stew-
ards of it.
———
Devin Patton is a fi fth-generation Wal-
lowa County native whose pastimes include
the study of ag economics, history and free
thought.
Put a hold on politics and focus on Putin, the enemy
OTHER VIEWS
Christine Flowers
I
’m writing this as Vladimir Putin is eating
up Ukraine. Did we fall asleep and wake
up in 1938 to hear that Hitler had taken
the Sudetenland? Who knew this could hap-
pen, in 2022?
Actually, we knew. Putin told us he was
going to do it with every public statement
that avoided a direct “no,” with every troop
movement at the border, with every invo-
cation of the sovereignty of the pro-Rus-
sian separatist regions. There are no surprises
when it comes to Putin’s desire to reconstruct
the Soviet Union. It’s not a matter of “if.” It’s
always been a matter of “when.”
As I watch this invasion unfold, switching
between networks and social media sites, I’ve
come to the conclusion that we are no longer
the breed of American who parachuted onto
the shores of Normandy. That sacrifi ced lives
in a bloody grave in the waters of Pearl Har-
bor, marched with the Fighting 69th to battle
Germany a generation before them and bat-
tled in the heat of deserts to avenge the mur-
der of 3,000 fellow citizens.
We are now tribes, divided by loyalties
and political expedience. It’s not a surprise,
given what we’ve seen unfold over the past
20 to 30 years, but it’s a devastating com-
mentary on where we’re headed as a nation.
I spent a good part of the last few days
unfriending those who blamed Biden for
weakness and those who blamed Trump for
loving Putin. I don’t need their alternative
viewpoints, and won’t be enriched by their
separate “takes” on the crisis at hand. I’m
done with dissent.
That’s because whatever you might think
of the wisdom of putting boots on the ground
in a country located thousands upon thou-
sands of miles away, you cannot simply
throw up your hands, off er “thoughts and
prayers,” and believe that you’ve done your
duty as an American when a dictator swal-
lows up a sovereign nation.
You are also derelict if you try and com-
pare what’s happening in Ukraine to our
southern border, blaming liberals for caring
more about a foreign nation than about our
own security and national integrity. That’s
comparing apples and bloody bodies, or
bananas and those standing in front of tanks
in Tiananmen Square.
We are obligated to care about our leg-
acy in the world, which has been battered
and bruised by many diff erent, fl awed men
and women. Obama was one. Trump was
another. Biden, the failed bureaucrat of
Afghanistan, is most defi nitely and glaringly
a third.
But those leaders are not “America.” We
the people are, and when we start backing off
and saying things like, “Well, I don’t want
my nephew or my son or my grandson or my
whatever putting boots on anyone else’s ter-
ritory,” I despair of ever again being proud of
this nation and its history. And if that makes
me sound like Michelle Obama, so be it.
On the other hand, you have liberals who
are so obsessed with what happened on Jan.
6 — something that was regrettable but did
not destroy our essential character — they
ignore the absolute failure of their own tribe
and reach back to blame Trump. To be clear,
this invasion happened on their leader’s
watch, not under the guidance of the man
they despise. And yet, if they are calling for
engagement, they are making penance for the
repellent anti-Americanism they have exhib-
ited in vilifying conservatives over the past
years, and decades.
I am devastated to be in this middle place,
because I am no moderate. I actually hate
that word, because it communicates a luke-
warm, tasteless, insubstantial broth. A per-
son without values, in other words. That will
anger moderates who believe that they stand
on high moral ground. But only those who
are willing to make a choice, a decision in
moments of crisis occupy that summit. And
those who try and see “both” sides are often
those who see no side clearly.
Any American who takes more pleasure
in attacking her political rival than in seek-
ing comfort and protection for the threat-
ened, or who excuses evil if it advances their
own partisan goals, is someone I renounce,
and excommunicate, from my life. Eff ective
immediately.
But if you are still reading, and you are
still listening, hear this: As someone who
cannot shoot a rifl e but who has worked with
war refugees, please contact me at the below
email address if you know of someone in
need of assistance in Ukraine. I will try and
direct you to someone who can help.
———
Christine Flowers is an attorney and a
columnist for the Delaware County Daily
Times, and can be reached at cfl owers1961@
gmail.com.
What we accomplished together in 2021
REDUCE,
REUSE,
RECYCLE
Peter Ferré
T
he Friends of Wallowa County Recy-
cling had the opportunity to present an
overview of 2021 at the county com-
missioners meeting Dec. 15. The following
is a summary of what is going on in the recy-
cling and waste management world here in
beautiful Wallowa County.
In 2021, the county (with the help of the
Friends of Wallowa County Recycling), was
able to win a $38,000 Mobile Recycling
Grant. Those grant funds have now been put
into action, creating a staff ed position and cus-
tom-built trailer that has begun picking up
recyclables from the Wallowa, Enterprise and
Joseph schools. The hope is to expand this
program as we move forward.
The 2021 Wallowa County Recycling
Program, (with the support of each of you),
diverted in excess of 1,242 tons of waste from
the landfi ll (largest amount on record).
The county generated in excess of $86,778
in 2021 revenues from its recycling operations
at the Recycling Center and Ant Flat.
Thirty-nine volunteers donated in excess of
513 hours worth of time in 2021 to help pre-
serve, maintain and expand our recycling pro-
gram. These volunteer hours were worth more
than $20,046 in donated time.
In 2021, the residents of Wallowa County
directly donated $2,671 to help preserve and
expand the recycling program. Those funds
are being used to help the county outfi t the
mobile recycling trailer, promote the mobile
program at the schools, purchase tools and
supplies for volunteers to use to clean, sort and
organize the Recycling Center and continue to
explore how to improve and expand our coun-
ty’s reducing, reusing and recycling programs.
The state of Oregon passed the Plastic Pol-
lution and Recycling Modernization Act (Sen-
ate Bill 582). The Recycling Modernization
Act will overhaul Oregon’s outdated recycling
system by building on local community pro-
grams and leveraging the resources of produc-
ers to create an innovative system that works
for everyone in the state as summarized:
• Responsibility is shared and scaled by
bringing packaging producers into Ore-
gon’s recycling system to cover the cost of
improvements.
• Increase access to recycling by provid-
ing or increasing recycling services to peo-
ple who did not previously have them, such as
rural areas.
• Prevents plastic pollution by ensuring col-
lected material is actually recycled.
• One list for the entire state of what can be
recycled.
To provide an overview of this new state
initiative, Laurie Gordon, (Materials Man-
agement Regional Specialist for the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality), will
be doing a “Pub Talk” on Tuesday, March 8
from 6-8 p.m. at Range Rider. Come learn
more.
2021 was full of challenges, hardships and
wonderful opportunities, and as the above
facts and fi gures shared everyone pulled
together this past year to help preserve and
expand our ability to reduce, reuse and recy-
cle through the Wallowa County Recycling
Program.
We continue to need your help as we move
forward. The Wallowa County fi scal year ends
at the end of June and we all need to work to
ensure the 2022 budget supports a continued
recycling program. We continue to need vol-
unteers to help at the center and with orga-
nizing recycling operations (email us at wal-
lowacountyrecycles@gmail.com for more
information).
Most importantly, we all need to focus on
reducing, (buying and using less), reusing,
(make it a goal to reuse everyday), and recy-
cling (bring all your recyclable cardboard,
paper, tin, aluminum, glass and plastic to the
Recycling Center).
———
Peter Ferré is a member of the Wallowa
County Recycling Task Force.
Retirement income planning and aging: The role of annuities
LAYIN’ IT ON
THE LINE
Steve Kerby
R
etirement-income planning has
become an important topic with the
aging of the baby-boom generation.
Many refer to it as preparation for the decu-
mulation stage in an investors’ life cycle.
Some use analogies of the accumula-
tion stage as climbing the mountain and the
decumulation as scaling down the mountain.
Climbing Mount Everest is indeed treacher-
ous, but believe it or not, most explorers of
this behemoth have died on the way down.
Mistakes made in retirement planning can
also be fatal, costing the client a worry-free
retirement.
The basis for all retirement-income plan-
ning is the client’s spending goals and objec-
tives in retirement. The sophistication of
fi nancial-planning software enables advis-
ers to simulate varied scenarios to arrive at
a benchmark retirement income plan. The
usual risks in retirement — longevity, infl a-
tion, interest rate and sequence of returns —
can be simulated. While all risk assessments
are quantifi able, the hardest to predict is fail-
ing health.
Aging, like death, is inevitable. As the
famous economist John Maynard Keynes
once put it: “In the long run, we are all
dead.”
If there is one thing that will crack the
dike in a retirement plan, it is changes to our
health. Discussing aging and frailty risk and
its realities can often be uncomfortable. It’s
not the fun part of the discussion like tak-
ing vacations, buying a boat or purchasing
a retirement home in Florida. Whatever the
uncomfortable nature of this topic, it must be
addressed. All retirement income plans start
with spending goals. Spending habits shift as
we age.
Many seniors over the age of 55 don’t
consider the eff ects of long-term care on
their retirement budget. This is a problem
since over 70% of people over age 65 need
some form of long-term care. But most peo-
ple don’t purchase long-term care insurance.
Whether it’s denial or procrastination, people
wait until they’re too unhealthy or too old to
purchase long-term care insurance. This is
where annuities may be the answer.
Many fi xed indexed annuities (FIAs) have
income riders. These income riders can be
purchased for a nominal fee and guarantee
the owner a lifetime income stream. These
products also have a death benefi t protect-
ing the spouse or for providing a legacy for
the heirs. It also has the crediting strategies
of an FIA that allows for growth in the accu-
mulated value — and, of course, they never
lose principal.
They also have another feature: An
enhanced benefi t that’s tied to the lifetime
income rider. These products are designed
to pay twice the lifetime income rider and
are triggered by the client’s inability to per-
form two activities of daily living (ADLs)
and can be available depending on your state
of residence.
Demonstrating the enhanced benefi ts for
healthcare should always be discussed in the
same breath as the tax benefi ts, principal pro-
tection and guaranteed income for life. It
may help you see the benefi ts an annuity can
provide and how they can provide a level of
protection in retirement.
Reducing stress can contribute to a hap-
pier retirement. Make sure you use every
opportunity to make that happen.
———
As an avid outdoorsman, Joseph and the
Wallowa area have been a big part of Steve
Kerby’s life since 1964. Steve is a Syndicated
Columnists member, a national organiza-
tion committed to a transparent approach to
money management. Visit stevekerby.retire-
village.com or call 503-936-3535 for more.