4A | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Sentinel
116 N. Sixth St.
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NED HICKSON , MANAGING EDITOR |
Opinion
541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ CGSENTINEL . COM
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ment for a redress of grievances.
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Time to end opposition for opposition’s sake
both Democratic and
continues the kind of
Republican leaders in
partisan politics that
Congress to “oppose
have turned the wheels
everything” the admin- of government into the
istration of the time pro- rusted grind of rickety
poses. This includes our gears that Americans
own Oregon Senator Jeff have lost faith in.
Merkley, who told Polit-
Perhaps more im-
ico
(Jan.
30,
2017)
that
portantly,
this kind of
As most parents will
he
would
automatically
“obstructionist”
men-
tell you, every child goes
through a stage where
they seem to suffer from
From the Managing Editor’s Desk
“oppositional disorder,”
Ned Hickson
fervently opposing even
the slightest difference
of opinion as if the
future of the world
tality also runs the risk
depended on it. Wheth- “filibuster any and all
Supreme
Court
Justice
of delegitimizing future
er it’s the “terrible twos”
nominees
Trump
puts
challenges within our
or teens (or both, Lord
forward.
”
system of checks and
help you) it’s part of a
Keep
in
mind
that
it
balances when they
necessary step toward
wasn’t
long
before
that
could matter most.
independence and
when Republican lead-
Wherever you stand
establishing personal
ership
in
our
nation’s
on the impeachment
perspective on the road
capitol
did
something
inquiry currently under-
to maturity.
similar
by
refusing
way, this isn’t the time to
However, opposi-
to
consider
President
overreach or grandstand
tion itself isn’t a sign of
Obama’s
nominee,
simply for the sake of
maturity. Opposition for
Merrick
Garland,
for
the
being in opposition
the sake of opposition
very
same
appointment.
or playing it safe with
only limits our opportu-
And
the
beat
goes
on.
party politics. Ameri-
nities, our perspectives
While
I
agree
that
cans are divided because
and the kind of under-
any
nominee
seeking
their representatives in
standing that helps us
congressional
approval
Congress have allowed
grow as individuals.
should
be
scrutinized
themselves to become
Maturity happens with
for
their
qualifications,
divided simply on the
the recognition of this
to
enter
into
that
pro-
merits of which side of
fundamental truth.
cess
with
a
preconceived
the aisle they happen to
Over the last sever-
conclusion
and
public
sit on.
al years, I’ve heard a
promise
to
automatical-
One of the most basic
growing rhetoric from
ly deny approval merely techniques of winning a
war is to divide and con-
quer. Without question,
we are already a nation
divided. Our represen-
tatives in Congress must
put aside their need to
conquer each other and
remember that the true
casualties of this kind of
political war are those
who they are supposed
to be representing.
A little more than 200
years ago, our nation
opposed tyranny in
order to pursue the
dream of being free. It
was part of a necessary
step toward indepen-
dence. Our forefathers
were mature enough to
recognize that opposi-
tion itself wasn’t enough
to secure our nation,
but that it would take
perspective and under-
standing to help us grow
as individuals and a
people united.
As we enter the early
part of our nation’s own
“terrible twos,” we need
to remember that fun-
damental truth.
Because unlike that
stage we must deal with
as parents, in this case
we really do need to act
as if the future of the
world depended on it…
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@
state.or.us
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• 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
• 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
S entinel
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