4A |
SATURDAY EDITION
| FEBRUARY 27, 2021
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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LETTERS
Benedick annexation
made simple
If the mayor or members of the
city council don’t find the time
to read the actual file facts from
Lane County and so many others
on the matter of annexation —
not just the biased presentations
for annexation by the COF Plan-
ning Director — consider this: If
you, your parents, loved ones or
friends lived on Oceana Drive,
would you vote for this annex-
ation?
Of course not. It’s wrong on
many levels.
Don’t turn Oceana Drive into a
road of heartache for its residents
and those of the adjacent neigh-
borhoods. Do the right thing
and deny this annexation.
—Jeff Talbot
Florence
Florence, like
everywhere else, is not
immune to racism
This letter is in response to Joel
Marks’ letter “America Is Not
Systemically Racist” (Feb. 24).
First, I would like to state that
while the Republican party of
the Civil War era did in fact en-
act some of the first freedoms for
Black people, neither the Dem-
ocratic or Republican parties of
today are like those that existed
in the 1860s through1950s.
By the late 1960s, the Demo-
cratic party had abandon its for-
mer support of legal segregation
while Republicans had come to
embrace a white backlash to vot-
ing and civil rights.
Remember that in 1968,
George Wallace left the Demo-
cratic party in protest to its ac-
tions, such as LBJ’s war on pov-
erty. But closer to home, lets talk
about Florence and some of the
obvious signs of prejudice and
discrimination that I have per-
sonally witnessed.
1. My partner brought our
Black friends to Thanksgiving
dinner at a public place two years
ago and came home telling me
that, when they sat down at a ta-
ble, the elderly white couple sit-
ting nearby got up and left.
2. The harassment of the young
girls protesting at a Black Lives
Matter demonstration last spring.
3. The Confederate flags that
I see on cars of residents here in
Florence.
Unfortunately we have prej-
udice alive and well in Florence
and we need to realize that we all
can do better, we all can be a lit-
Letters to the Editor policy
tle kinder and — no matter what
political party you are in — we
should all work at realizing that
diversity is important.
We need to understand that all
people should be treated fairly
regardless of race, religion, sex-
ual orientation, age, ethnicity or
ability.
—Maggie Bagon
Florence
Seems like a good sign
I live in an area where it’s easy
to get lost and strangers often
knock at the door for directions
— although less frequently these
days.
It has been a pleasant surprise
in recent weeks to be told by peo-
ple asking for directions that they
had at first hesitated to walk up
the driveway, but felt safe to do
so when they saw the “Biden-
Harris” bumper sticker on my
parked car.
I never asked anyone who they
actually voted for, but I hope my
experience is a good sign that
creating a feeling of safety and
acting decently toward others are
being recognized as core values
of the new administration.
—Karin Radtke
Yachats
The danger of totalitarisnism here in the U.S.
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub-
missions on this and other topics are
always welcome as part of our goal
to encourage community discus-
sion and exchange of perspectives.)
trusts their college professors
more than any of the above.
It pains me to see some Chris-
tians who say they have lost their
businesses and careers by ex-
To name just a few of the char-
acteristics of totalitarianism:
restrictions of speech, a lack of
freedom of religion, lack of de-
mocracy, political repression,
control over the economy, mas-
sive censorship, mass surveil-
lance, limited freedom of move-
ment, state terrorism, fraudulent
elections … sound familiar?
This appears to be the direc-
tion our nation is heading if we
don’t address it soon.
Some of the preliminary signs
witnessed in other totalitarian
movements (Joseph Stalin — Sovi-
et Union, Adolf Hitler — Germa-
ny, Mao Zedong — China, Benito
Mussolini — Italy, K II-Sung —
North Korea) are: 1) loneliness,
2) loss of faith in traditional in-
stitutions such as political parties,
media, law enforcement, religious
institutions and corporations.
A recent Pew report showed
that the younger generation
Guest Viewpoint
By Marshall Denton
Florence
pressing their opinions against
a liberal agenda. It is one reason
some Christians don’t speak out;
they are afraid of the repercus-
sions.
The truth is, speaking out or
standing up in a just and non-vi-
olent way is the only firewall
against tyranny.
Tyranny was once what Amer-
ica fought to free itself from.
Now, it seems tyranny is being
pushed for implementation.
The church needs to take ac-
tion and come together as one
body and one spirit. Our coun-
try was founded in part on
Judeo-Christian beliefs. The orig-
inal intent of our founders was
God over man over government.
It seems many on the Left are at-
Office Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to noon
tempting to reverse that order.
For example, Reps. Jamie
Raskin (D-MD), Jared Huffman
(D-CA) and Jerry McNerney (D-
CA) are asking President Biden
to pressure conservative Chris-
tians through a document called
“Restoring Constitutional Sec-
ularism and Patriotic Pluralism
in the White House,” a 28-paged
proposal on behalf of the Secular
Democrats of America.
Among the decisions relat-
ed to those recommendations
have been the reversal of many
policies instituted by President
Trump, including the “Mexico
City Policy” and others that es-
sentially weaken or eliminate his
anti-abortion policies.
As of Jan. 28, President Biden
reversed President Trump’s ban
on billions of taxpayer dollars to
fund abortions across the globe.
More than 60 million abortions
have been performed in the U.S.
since Roe v. Wade.
Please, Christians, don’t drink
the Kool-Aid. We need to stand
up, push back lies with truth,
love (not violence) and be firm
with our convictions.
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WHERE TO WRITE
President Joseph Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TDD: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
Email: Sen.DickAnderson@
oregonlegislature.gov
Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown
State Rep.
Boomer Wright (Dist. 9)
State Sen. Dick
Anderson (Dist. 5)
160 State Capitol 900 Court St.
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Salem, OR 97301
Message Line:
503-986-1409
503-378-4582
Email: Rep.BoomerWright@
www.oregon.gov/gov
oregonlegislature.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
Lane County Dist. 1
Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
Email: Jay.Bozievich@
co.lane.or.us
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753 | 541-465-6750
Florence City Council
www.merkley.senate.gov
& Mayor Joe Henry
Florence City Hall, 250
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio Highway 101, Florence, 97439
(4th Dist.)
541-997-3437
2134 Rayburn HOB
ci.florence.or.us
Washington, DC 20515
Email comments to Florence
202-225-6416
City Recorder Kelli Weese at
541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732 kelli.weese@ci.florence.or.us
www.defazio.house.gov