4A | NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Sentinel
1498 E. Main St., STE 104
Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424
damien Sherwood, editor | 541-942-3325 | dsherwood@cgsentinel.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)
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Letters to the Editor Policy
The 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
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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documentation will not be published.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 The Sentinel
readership area will only be published at the discretion of the
editor.
Political/Election Letters:
‘The One You Feed’
I am honored to be
Cottage Grove’s Ward 3
City Councilor and grate-
ful to serve my home-
town. I value your
guidance and input on
all decisions we make
as a council.
There is so much
happening in the world
today. What our coun-
try has been through in
the past two years almost
feels fictional. I person-
ally cannot wait until it
is all behind us and we
can return to our normal
lives.
The pandemic ushered
in the greatest difference
of opinion on everything
from
school/business
closures to mask and vac-
cine mandates. It’s left
most of us, at one time or
another, feeling helpless
and a bit out of control.
Never in my lifetime have
I felt such a strong divide
in personal, medical and
political opinions.
I have watched in our
community as friends
and families have been
torn apart. Our local so-
cial media pages are filled
with stories of people
yelling at each other in
grocery stores and then
proudly posting it. When
I passed through the line
at Safeway, I was sur-
prised to see a sign at the
cashier with three sim-
ple words… “Please be
NICE.” I thought, do we
standing how the system
works, it’s easy to see how
our perspective could be
skewed to one side or the
other. It’s hard to believe
that a story that is all over
my news feed, may not
ever come across yours.
Just this week, there
was a glimmer of hope as
a bipartisan bill aiming
to permit people to use
algorithm-free tech plat-
forms was introduced by
members of the House.
Maybe it’s time that
From the City Council's desk
Ward 3 Councilor Candace Solesbee
really need to be remind-
ed to be nice? I guess so.
I have realized over
the last couple of years
how much our outlook is
shaped by our upbring-
ing, people that surround
us, and the news we con-
sume. Perhaps, what im-
pacts us the most are the
algorithms on our smart-
phones and laptops.
Algorithms are de-
signed to log every site
we visit or news article
we read (establishing a
pattern). It then gives us
more of the same. Under-
we give each other some
grace? Maybe talk over a
cup of coffee, like neigh-
bors used to do? We could
give people the chance to
explain why they feel a
certain way without let-
ting our emotions take
over. It’s possible that we
might change our mind,
see another side or find
common ground.
A friend told me a sto-
ry that impacted me and
I’d like to share it.
An old Cherokee Chief
sat down with his grand-
son to teach him a life
lesson.
“There’s a fight going
on inside of me,” he tells
the young boy. “A fight
between two wolves. One
wolf is evil. It’s full of an-
ger, greed, pride and self-
pity. The other wolf is
good. It’s full of kindness,
joy, love, forgiveness and
humility.”
He went on to say, “The
same fight is going on in
you and everyone else on
earth.”
His grandson was qui-
et, giving this some
thought before asking,
“grandfather, which
wolf will win?”
The old chief smiled
and said, “The one
you feed.”
We are all walking
our own paths and truly
do not know what others
are going through. Some-
times just saying hello
to someone can impact
them in a positive way
(you may be their only
hello). Take the time be
a friend, a mentor or a
smile on the street… it
matters.
Do something positive
for Cottage Grove. For
volunteer opportunities,
contact the Community
Center at 541-942-1185.
Cheers to a better and
kinder 2022.
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:
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.floydprozanski@
state.or.us
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Oregon federal
representatives
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
• Heather Buch
Lane County Commissioner
- District 5
Email: Heather.Buch@lane
countyorg.gov
125 E. Eighth Ave.
Eugene, OR 97401
Or call 541-682-4203
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