4A |
SATURDAY EDITION
| APRIL 13, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
The First Amendment
C
ongress shall make no law respect-
ing 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 Govern-
ment for a redress of grievances.
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800)
The 90by30 Project and K(no)W More
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis-
sions on this and other topics are always
welcome as part of our goal to encourage
community discussion and exchange of
perspectives.)
The 90by30 Project is a communi-
ty-wide effort to reduce child abuse
and neglect in Lane County by 90 per-
cent by the year 2030. Most of us — 98
percent of the Lane County adults in-
terviewed in a recent survey — share
some beliefs about children: We be-
lieve they deserve to grow up safe and
healthy and that, if they are harmed,
it is our responsibility to support and
help them in healing.
Reducing child abuse and neglect 90
percent by 2030 is clearly a challenging
task. Some people we talk to have said
they feel overwhelmed at the thought
of it — it seems too large and too com-
plicated.
Where do we begin?
What are the most important things
to do to give us the best chance to reach
this goal in Lane County?
That’s where 90by30 comes in. We
want to give people the tools to “play
Guest Viewpoint
By David Bitner
90by30
their part” in keeping kids safe and
healthy. If we can change the mindset
that child abuse is someone else’s prob-
lem — a problem to be solved by the
police or Child Protective Services or
schools — we can shift the social norms
that keep us from coming together as a
“village” to raise a child.
Every region in Lane County will de-
velop its own prevention plan, its own
unique blend of strategies and resourc-
es to prevent abuse and neglect. But
each plan will also be complemented
by an overarching countywide strate-
gy: the K(no)w More media campaign,
which emphasizes that, once we know
more about child abuse and how to
prevent it, we can say no more to any-
thing that harms children and families.
Based on Play Your Part, the suc-
cessful public service campaign imple-
mented by Australia’s NAPCAN (Na-
tional Association for the Prevention
of Child Abuse and Neglect), K(no)w
More will launch in 2019 and include
television ads, radio spots and a social
media presence.
Most of all, it will emphasize the idea
that each of us has a role to play in end-
ing child abuse. No matter who you
are or what part you play in the com-
munity, you can help create a positive,
healthy environment for kids.
LETTERS
Someone on Lane ESD with
some get-it-doneness
Well another May election is com-
ing up. May elections have always
been a bit of a mystery to me. It always
appears I’m voting for a person or a
proposal I know nothing about.
I decided to do a little advance re-
search on the upcoming 2019 May
election. One issue is to elect a repre-
sentative to the Lane Education Ser-
vices District Board of Directors (Lane
ESD). I’ve talked to educators and dis-
covered how important Lane ESD is
to Siuslaw Schools. This is the District
that covers Siuslaw Schools. It’s been
my experience living on the Coast for
16 years that any organization based
in Eugene treats the Oregon Coast like
an ugly stepchild.
We need a “homey” to further our
interests. Leonora Kent is that hom-
ey. She has been an educator at Lane
Community College-Florence Cam-
pus for over 14 Years. She is an activist
and community leader for the coast.
I’ve worked with Leonora on several
non-profit events. She’s an incredible
lady — creative, focused, organized
and blessed with an abundance of en-
ergy and get-it-doneness.
The Siuslaw School District needs
what the Lane ESD can do for it. I’m
given to understand that Leonora is
running against a person from Elmira.
We need Leonora as the District 4
representative on the Lane Education
Service District… desperately.
Do it for the Siuslaw kids.
—Eric D. Hauptman
Florence
Let the axe fall
where it must
The Mueller investigation seems to
be at an end. I say “seems to be” be-
cause many on the left side of the aisle
are already looking for an out from
their non-stop demonizing of Presi-
dent Trump.
After almost two years of turn-
ing over every rock on the planet,
one commentator appeared that he
couldn’t believe the President was not
in chains going to the dungeon for life.
Another made time during her vaca-
tion to go on the air while barely able
to hold back the tears of travesty that
the president will not be flogged in
Times Square for his crimes. Another
was in complete denial lining up guest
after guest who were also in denial,
ending it with the obvious explanation
that “it must be a cover up.”
This is what passes for competent
commentary on our times?
Maybe my characterization is a little
over the top. But in my defense, com-
pared to their so-called reporting, I
think I’m pretty close. Going forward
from here, we must brace ourselves for
Projection and Rationalization. After
all, these were all good and honest
journalists looking out for us. If they
made mistakes, it was all in the name
of good journalism, right?
What you will hear is a characteri-
zation of anyone who does not see it
their way as covering up for this ad-
ministration. This is called Projection.
After all, we were told the adminis-
tration and the president had evil in-
tentions and aren’t good Americans,
which is why the former head of the
CIA told us his own actions were trea-
sonous. This is called Rationalization.
If you think I am carrying water for
the Trump administration, you would
be wrong. I don’t see angels on either
side. What I do see is, after years of a
stalled economy and sluggish business
health, is a resurgence. I see our little
town sprucing things up for a bright
future; I see and hear my children
looking forward, not backwards.
I think there is a good future for my
grandchildren if the lessons of the past
are not repeated. I also see danger in
those who in their quest for power
push ignorant, illogical and dangerous
ideals on our country for their own
benefit.
I say let the axe fall where it must.
Just make sure you’re not doing it with
a smile on your face. For no matter
which way it falls, sooner or later the
roles will be reversed.
I pray that what needs strengthened
will be, and what needs to fade does.
— David T. Eckhardt
Florence
Experiencing The Wall
I was not able to view the Wall That
Heals that came to town this past
weekend but have memories of the
“Wall.”
I was in Army from 1962 to 1965
and stationed in Germany. At that
time and like most Americans we did
not know anything about what was go-
ing on in Vietnam. It was not until the
’70s that protests became forefront be-
cause TV exposed us to what we were
to discover was an unjust war where
our young men were being killed.
I was against the War but what I
could never understand is the animos-
ity from the general public against our
returning vets. In 1982 the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Wall, designed
by Maya Lin, was dedicated. Around
1987, I was working on an archictural
project and was fortunate to spend a
weekend in D.C. where I visited muse-
ums and the “Wall.”
I did not physically lose anyone so
there were no names on the wall for
me but have a few friends that were
psychologically damaged. Just to walk
down the wall, read names and touch
the wall was overpowering.
Then seeing Vets touching the wall
and crying and seeing the momentous
placed for lost ones caused me to sit
down, take a very deep breath and
wipe the tears from my eyes.
Yesterday was the past.
Tomorrow is the future.
Today is a gift.
—Win Jolley
Florence
Wall partly a ‘whitewash’
over fuller Vietnam truth
Did we learn anything from the re-
cent siren-and-flashing-lights appear-
ance in Florence of the traveling Viet-
nam “Wall that Heals” ?
The Wall portrays a list of U.S. ser-
vice personnel who died as a direct re-
sult of the war — a number overshad-
owed by those who committed suicide
upon return, some estimates reaching
300,000.
Significant concealed U.S. financial
and military support for Vietnam ac-
tually began well before 1955. Daniel
Ellsburg, in his monumentally de-
tailed book, “Secrets,” shows the extent
to which US Administrations funding
of the French was made without dis-
closure to the US Public or Congress.
Costs ultimately reached, in current
value, trillions of dollars.
As to Vietnam, Robert McNamara,
Secty of Defense under Presidents
Kennedy and Johnson, who in 1965
arranged the first major troop place-
ments over 50,000 into Vietnam,
concluded in his 1995 book, In Retro-
spect: The Tragedies and Lessons from
Vietnam: “We were wrong, terribly
wrong...”
Resembling later orchestrated U.S.
leadership deceptions concerning Iraq
and “weapons of mass destruction,” as
to Vietnam the American public was
not honestly informed nor consulted
about Vietnam from the inception in
1950.
CIA sabotage missions into North
Vietnam in the 1950s, including
bombs, agricultural poisons and falsi-
fied information to create panic in the
population, were never publicly re-
vealed. Nor was the fact that U.S. field
commanders were asking for consid-
eration of tactical nuclear weapons.
Nor was the extent of civilian inju-
ries, US-supervised torture programs
or assassination squads, or intention-
al, systematic village destruction or
killings. This includes My Lai, in 1968,
where 150 U.S. troops killed over
500 civilians — mostly women and
children — as revealed by Seymore
Hersch in 1969. Original military re-
views suppressed actual findings.
This pattern of deception contin-
ued through to Nixon’s hidden mas-
sive 1969 B-52 strikes into Cambodia.
Those wide-spread systematic hidden
bombings, revealed with his 1970
invasion into Cambodia, ultimately
helped prompt the National Guard
killings of Kent State students.
I interviewed Hersch weeks before
he released the My Lai story, a short
time before I was drafted, ultimately
becoming an 11-B infantry sergeant,
then editor of the 2d Infantry Division
newspaper.
The 1968 Tet offensive finally
opened the window onto Vietnam
reality — in conjunction with such
‘leaked’ resources as the “Pentagon Pa-
pers” — revealing the years of broader
lies and myths for what they were.
In light of this larger reality, it’s re-
gretful that the “Wall” can be used or
seen — in part — as a “whitewash”
for a fuller story about Vietnam: how
US military and political leadership
hid reality from the public, and the
resulting true costs to the American
public, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
— and how the U.S. media and public
repeatedly appear willing to celebrate
and embrace military mobilization
without accompanying moral mobili-
zation.
—Rand Dawson
Siltcoos Lake
USPS# 497-660
Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
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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
Oregon 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
(4th 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
@oregonlegislature.gov
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