4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • OCTOBER 3, 2018
O PINION
The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg-
ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their
Government for a redress of greivences.
Letters to the Editor Policy
Th e Sentinel 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.
Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumentative,
sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or
without documentation will not be published.
Letters containing poetry or from outside Th e
Sentinel readership area will only be published at the
discretion of the editor.
Political/Election Letters:
Ending abuse requires a commitment to each other
body wash, music, movie
their place in what is still
a male-dominated culture tickets, clothes and video
— all while simultaneous- games by depicting what it
looks like, sounds like and
ly trying to understand
the intricacies of commu- feels like to “be a man.”
It is baggage our culture
nicating with those they
has been carrying for gen-
love.
Even as a teenager some erations, repackaged and
t wasn’t until becoming
presented in more ways
a father that I realized 35 years ago, I can tell
you that appearing tough than ever before
how a childhood of
Th e fact is, being a real
and “manly” among your
witnessing verbal and
man does mean being in
physical abuse by the men peers while still holding
control.
in my family — specifi cal- on to the part of you that
But not of others; it
ly, my father and brothers is thoughtful and caring
— had impacted me and
left wounds which had
never truly healed.
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
I know this because I oc-
Ned Hickson
casionally saw refl ections
of my father and brothers
feels contradictory to what means being in control of
in myself as I fought to
we’re taught about being a yourself enough to under-
avoid making the same
stand, acknowledge and
man.
mistakes with my own
accept your strengths as
Th e stereotypical defi -
children.
nition of manhood was in well as your weaknesses.
As much as we want
It means never using
movies, advertising and
to tell ourselves we can
your strength — phys-
music, and the message
choose not to take any
ically or verbally — to
was simple: Being a man
baggage with us on our
harm the women in our
journey through life, there means being in control.
In charge. In command. lives, whether it be your
is no getting rid of it com-
Of life and our relation- wife, girlfriend, co-work-
pletely — only a conscious
er, mother, daughter or
decision to leave it circling ships.
neighbor.
Seeking true equilibri-
on the carousel.
A real man provides
um is even more diffi cult
Ultimately, it is always
protection, safety and
today because, unlike 35
somewhere.
acceptance; a weak man
years ago, the unhealthy
Circling.
dishes out pain, insecurity
stereotypes that defi ne
Waiting to be claimed.
“manhood” are relentless- and denial.
Th is is especially true
In either case, they are
ly perpetuated through
for young men in their
refl ections of our inner
teens and early 20s, when social media and the
self. Th e question is: What
near-constant presence
they are defi ning them-
kind of refl ection do you
of advertising that sells
selves and establishing
I
want to see when you look
in the mirror each day?
As wonderful as our
community is, it isn’t im-
mune to domestic violence
against women, children
and men.
Th ere’s no denying that
the cultural threads of
domestic violence are wo-
ven into the fabric of our
society.
Th ough we have made
strides in some areas by
recognizing and discuss-
ing matters of physical and
verbal abuse, that baggage
is still out there circling on
the carousel.
Domestic Violence
Awareness began Monday.
As a culture, each of us
must make a commitment
to avoid claiming the
baggage that perpetuates
violence on our fami-
lies and each other; as a
community, we must make
a commitment to each
other to support — and
when necessary speak up
for — our friends, family
members and neighbors
who we suspect may be
victims.
Most importantly, to
end the cycle of domestic
violence, we must be will-
ing to carry on with that
commitment well beyond
the last, crisp evening of
October.
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 accurate, fair
and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay;
and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates
based on personal experience and perspective rather
than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric.
Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the
editor column to outline their views and platforms
or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political
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 criteria.
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@
state.or.us
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Website: www.leg.state.or.
us/hayden
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• Sen. Ron Wyden
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: wyden.senate.gov
Phone: (541) 431-0229
• Sen. Jeff Merkley
Email: merkley.senate.gov
Phone: 541-465-6750
C ottage G rove
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