4A |
SATURDAY EDITION
| JULY 20, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News
Siuslaw News
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‘We came in peace for all mankind’
On this day 50 years
ago, more than 600 mil-
lion people from around
the world were united in
a common experience: To
watch as the first humans
set foot on the moon.
It was part of a journey
that had begun eight years
earlier, culminating in a
76-hour, 200,000-mile
trek to reach the farthest
point that humans had
ever touched within our
universe.
As Neil Armstrong
opened the hatch of the
Apollo 11 lunar module
at 10:39 p.m. on July 20
and began descending the
ladder toward the moon’s
surface, it didn’t matter
what language he spoke or
political party he belonged
to — and the only race
that mattered as he created
the first lunar footprint
was that of the human
race.
As he took that first
“small step” and uttered
his now famous words re-
ferring to mankind’s giant
leap, the moment illustrat-
ed a couple of undeniable
Yet some 400,000
scientists, researchers
and engineers worked in
collaboration and solved
what historians have
called the “10,000 impos-
sible questions” facing the
mission.
From the Editor’s Desk
Ned Hickson
truths about our species.
The first is that when
we are at our best, the im-
possible becomes possible.
To truly appreciate the
magnitude of obstacles
that needed to be over-
come in order to achieve
the first moon landing and
safely return astronauts
Buzz Aldrin, Michael Col-
lins and Armstrong, you
only have to look at the
iPhone in your pocket.
Today, within that
handheld device, you
wield more computer
processing power than the
entire NASA space pro-
gram had in the 1960s.
Which brings me to the
second undeniable truth
about mankind: To live in
peace together, we must
either be united in a com-
mon threat or common
goal.
In 1972, after the
completion of the final
mission in the Apollo
program, about 30 NASA
leaders met for a few
days at Caltech to review
what had been accom-
plished and how they had
achieved the challenge of
the century.
Armstrong was the last
to speak, walking quietly
to the chalkboard and
drawing four bell-type
curves. He labeled them
Leadership, Threat, Econ-
omy and Talent, then said,
“When you get all these
lined up, you can’t stop
something really big from
happening.”
Fifty years ago tomor-
row, on July 21, the Apollo
11 began its journey back
to Earth, leaving behind
a plaque on the surface of
the moon that reads:
Here men from the
planet Earth first set foot
on the moon—July 1969
A.D.—We came in peace
for all mankind.
As we reflect on the
50th anniversary of
achieving the impossible,
we need to ask ourselves
whether the next small
step we take will unite
us through leadership,
economy and talent —
and if that unity will be
the fleeting kind created
by a common threat, or a
lasting peace for all man-
kind that comes through
sharing a common goal.
LETTERS
Resolution to address
climate change
After many long and frustrating
attempts at getting action from fed-
eral, state and local governments re-
garding our climate crisis, I present-
ed Florence Mayor Joe Henry and the
Florence City Council with a formal
request at the July 15 city council
meeting.
In it, I referenced a study released
by the Rocky Mountain Institute
that shows that pledges from cities,
businesses and individuals through-
out the world would enable us to
reach two-thirds of the Paris Climate
Agreement goals.
I requested that our mayor and
city council produce a resolution
that pledges to join forces with com-
munity, state and federal entities
to address our climate crisis; I also
requested that the mayor designate
a commission that includes a wide
range of interested parties in order to
develop concrete actions for the City
of Florence to take.
The study conducted by the Rocky
Mountain Institute, a renowned re-
newable energy organization in Col-
orado, concluded that pledges by cit-
ies and business add up. I hope the
mayor and city council also believe in
their own power to effect change and
follow my request.
Action on the climate crisis is way
past due.
— Michael Allen
Florence
Not in harmony
I just returned home to Florence
last Saturday. I’d been in Los Angeles
for two weeks. I fl ew into Eugene, got
in my car and drove back to the Or-
egon coast.
Aft er crowded freeways and urban
sprawl as far as the eye can see, the
drive through the trees and along the
Siuslaw River fi lled my mind with
beauty, and LA became a distant
memory.
I had crossed the last bridge,
cruised past the casino and made the
last curve coming into town when...
oh my — I was taken back.
Th e mural; I had completely for-
gotten about it.
Before I left , I had begun accepting
it as part of our town, a bit busy for
my taste but bright and colorful.
Now it looked out of place. It re-
minded me of Santa Monica or Ven-
ice Beach — defi nitely not in harmo-
ny with the beauty I had just driven
through.
—Jeff Ashmead
Florence
Thankful for our
local cinema
When my wife and I were decid-
ing on a retirement location, we were
drawn to Florence by three things:
the marvelous library, Peace Harbor
hospital and the Florence Events
Center. Since moving here some 21
years ago, we appreciate these facili-
ties more and more.
A few years back, the shuttered
movie theater in the Grocery Out-
let shopping center was rejuvenated
as City Lights Cinemas; had it been
there under the current owner, we
would have added it to the list.
As a retired engineer and data
junkie, I keep meticulous comput-
erized personal fi nancial records
and, in looking back at what we have
seen at City Lights Cinemas, found
we don’t oft en attend the Hollywood
blockbusters. We do, however, attend
less well-known screenings like the
artistically recreated Van Gogh char-
acters in “Loving Vincent” and the
refurbishment of a classic formula 1
racing car in “Ferrari 312B.”
Th is week, we attended “Bikes of
Wrath,” the story of fi ve Aussie cy-
clists who decided to travel the path
the fi ctional Joad family took in
Steinbeck’s “Th e Grapes of Wrath.”
Steinbeck paints a picture of the Joad
family leaving their dust bowl farm
in Oklahoma in search of the prom-
ise of jobs in California. Instead of a
broken-down jalopy piled high with
all their worldly possessions like the
Joads, the Aussies set out pedaling
the same route.
Sixty-some years aft er reading
Steinbeck’s Pulitzer-prize winning
novel, I still get teary remembering
his vivid descriptions of the hard-
ships facing these Depression-era
migrants. Th roughout the movie,
folks the cyclists met read short ex-
cerpts of the book. I was struck how
little some things have changed.
Th e Oklahoma refugees from the
dust bowl faced a string of hardships
and were met with indiff erence and
outright hostility along their journey.
And these were from fellow Ameri-
can citizens. Th e attitude of “we’ve
got ours… too bad about you” exist-
ed then and has not yet perished.
You need go no further than to
peruse the Letters To Th e Editor in
this newspaper to see that some in
our own community would have felt
right at home, urging the Joads to
move on.
So thank you, Michael Falter
at City Lights, for bringing this
thought-provoking fi lm to Florence.
—Ken Janowski
Florence
Letters to the Editor policy
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi-
tor as part of a community discussion of issues on
the local, state and national level.
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lished at the discretion of the editor.
Political/Election Letters:
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
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Candidates themselves may not use the letters
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As with all letters and advertising content, the
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er, general manager and editor, reserves the right
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criteria.
Email 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
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