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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2018)
4 A ❘ SATURDAY EDITION ❘ FEBRUARY 17, 2018 Siuslaw News NED HICKSON , EDITOR Without political civility, our nation is in peril By comparison to the rest of the world, our people prospered in a lifestyle unequaled in the history of humankind. How did this come about? I would suggest it was in the genius of the idea that a system of two-party gov- retained civility. The real key to our suc- cess? The process of issue, conflict, compromise and resolution. The party in power puts out its, perhaps over-the-top, plan or pro- gram. The opposition takes issue and proposes alterna- tives. Debate takes place GUEST VIEWPOINT B Y J IMMIE Z INN F LORENCE ernment, with each party sometimes in power and sometimes providing the loyal opposition, could bal- ance out the excesses inher- ent in the exercise of any absolute power. We have had very liberal governments (Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt come to mind) and rigidly conservative administrations (Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush as examples). Certainly, the political machinations were fre- quently rancorous, going clear back to the feuding of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Yet for the most part we and it becomes clear neither side can prevail 100 percent — so eventually compro- mise is offered by both sides, the issue is settled and we move on. Again, I must stress this system worked very well for over 200 years. Then, somewhere in the past 20 years or so, we decided that compromise was a dirty word. Somehow it became synonymous with surrender. All-or-nothing became the misguided imperative of both sides. At the same time, we decided that those from the other side were obviously of evil intent while we, on our side, pos- sessed the purity of the truly righteous. People have quit listening to any idea alien to their bias and vehemently attack anyone who questions their dogma. What both sides seem to dream about most is single- party rule. Lip service is still given to the process of compromise but that is all it is. Instead, we conclude all will be great again, as soon as those other “fools” final- ly come to their senses and see it our way. Until then? Go pound salt. God help us if either side ever achieves true one-party rule. If world history clearly illustrates a point, it is that any single-party system, whether on the left or right, inevitably leads to despot- ism. We, pure of heart though we may be, are not immune. I would suggest that unless we find a way to again become civil in our political systems, unless we return to an age of reason- able accommodation to the ideas of others, this country is in deep trouble. LETTERS V OICE YOUR OPINION ON HB 4135 The Oregon Advanced Directive law has not changed in 25 years. HB 4135 wants to change that. It proposes that the governor appoint a 13-person board to make sure the advanced directives of citizens, including those suffering from dementia, are followed. As it is now, you can appoint some- one to be your voice if you cannot. The sentence reads, “If you wish, the advance directive may include a direc- tive to physicians to withhold or with- draw life sustaining procedures under certain circumstances.” The certain circumstances are: You are close to death and life sup- port would only postpone — not pre- vent — death; Or you are permanently uncon- scious; Or have an advanced progressive ill- ness; Or life support would not help your medical condition and would subject you to extraordinary suffering. So in other words, you need to be physically failing, not mentally failing, to have your advance directive fol- lowed. This does not protect the demented. No one gives them the choice if they want to live in that condition or not. I for one do not want to live in a memo- ry care unit or live with life-sustaining measures if I was not mentally capable of making the choice at that time. At present, HB 4135 is on the House of Representatives floor to be voted on. It is important you voice your opinion to your representative. —Bruce Yelle Florence T HIRD - GRADE MATH The population of the United States, as of 2016, is 323 million people. President Trump has just proposed a $1 trillion per year program to improve our infrastructure such as roads, bridges, airports, etc. That will cost nearly every man, woman and child $3,230 each year. That is only one program on top of our other basic costs to run the country. This is only third-grade math. — Albert Anderson Florence NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 It is my sincere hope any reader of what follows is neither insulted nor angered by the expression of my sincere opinions. Unfortunately, it seems to me such a reaction has become a near absolute in political discourse these days. If one is questioned about an issue, it is considered an attack; if someone dis- agrees, they become the enemy; if you suggest that someone on the other side may have a good idea, you are a traitor. These traits, exhibited so vociferously by our presi- dent and echoed in kind by his opposition, are clear examples of the break down in civil discourse that, if not corrected, will see no less than the destruction of this democracy. I do not believe this to be any exaggeration. When we demand all or nothing, the end result will, in most situ- ations, be nothing. Consider our history. From before the constitu- tion was ratified through well over the next 200 years, we became the most successful and the most powerful nation on Earth. ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ S AFETY IS IMPORTANT PART OF EDUCATION Monday evening I attended the informational meeting at Siuslaw High School regarding the possibility of the school district pursuing a bond to finance the upgrading and/or new con- struction of the facilities, including the high school. I went because I value education and I want, in every way possible, to show the young people in our community that we do care about and support them. I went because, as a retired teacher who has visited and spent time in those facilities, I recognize that they are out- dated, ineffective for 21st century learning and teaching, and are unsafe. I went because I wanted to see the future of our community — our youth — embraced and supported. I left the meeting feeling sad. Not because there wasn’t support for the proposals, but because I heard three thoughtful Siuslaw High School students, all female, asking multiple questions about safety. “Will each room have a fire extin- guisher, because the foam will disable a shooter and then it can be used to hit them?” asked one student. “Will the exterior doors have auto- matic lockdown systems that can be triggered?” asked another. “Will our classroom doors be stronger and safe, ‘cuz the ones we have now are flimsy?” asked the third student. I was heartbroken that these are the questions that our students have on their minds when they think about their high school (junior high, elementary) school day. And then, on Valentine’s Day, com- ing home after a lovely afternoon’s drive along our beautiful Oregon Coast, I heard the news from Parkland, Fla. — another school shooting leaving 17 students and teachers dead, with more injured. My sadness turned to anger. And as my heart went out to those in Florida, my heart went out to our stu- dents who start the days with those very same worries accompanying them to school each day. Those worries become magnified each time there is another school shooting — we’ve had 18 shooting incidents at schools in the first 45 days of 2018 in America. If we truly are a “City in Motion,” that motion needs to support — 1,000 percent — our youth. Our residents need to support an upcoming bond measure should the district decide to move forward and place a measure on the November ballots. It will let our students know that we have their backs. We can’t, as a com- munity, believe it will “never happen here.” That’s what they thought in Parkland, Fla., Marshall County, Ky., Aztec, NM., Rancho Tehama, Calif., San Bernardino, Calif., Roseburg, Ore., Troutdale, Ore., Santa Monica, Calif., Newton, Conn., Oakland, Calif., Blacksburg, Va., and Littleton, Colo. They were wrong. Enough. —Becky Goehring Florence T HOUGHTS FROM AN OLD U.S. M ARINE As I sit here in my comfortable motorhome presently at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in south- ern California watching the Olympics, and in particular the downhill skiing routes these athletes are skiing down, I cannot help but wonder how many other Korean Veterans of the Korean War are looking at these hills as I am — and wondering if those were the hills we had to fight up and down back in the 1950s? Without a doubt, most of the observers and all the participants have vague — if any — memory of the thousands of American young men who died over there while fighting to take those hills and then to hold them. Just some thoughts from an old Marine reminiscing. —Tony Cavarno Florence The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Consulting Editor 831-761-7353 Email: echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager Jenna Bartlett Ned Hickson Erik Chalhoub Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classifiedad,sThursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $76; 6-month in-county, $52; 10-weeks subscription, $23; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription,$99; 6-month out-of-county, $65; 10-weeks subscription, $29; Out of State — 1- year subscription, $125; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $71. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com L ETTERS TO THE P OLICY E DITOR The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous, argumentative and anonymous letters or poetry, or letters from outside our readership area will only be published at the discretion of the editor. P OLITICAL /E LECTION L ETTERS : Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accu- rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and per- spective rather than partisanship and campaign- style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and plat- forms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid polit- ical advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above crite- ria. Send letters to: nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE Pres. Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202- 228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio ( 4 th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan ( Dist. 5 ) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown ( Dist. 9 ) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @state.or.us West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us
