Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2020)
OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded in 1906 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 A4 EDITOR’S DESK Looking for common ground in a divided nation T his Friday, Sept. 11, marks the 19th anniversary of the terror attacks that toppled the World Trade Center and left one side of the Pentagon in smoking ruins. While Sept. 11, 2001, is a dark moment in our nation’s history that left scars on our collective psyche, it is easy to romanticize the sense of unity and patri- otism that followed that Jade day. Muslims in Amer- McDowell ica feared for their lives NEWS EDITOR as they faced hostility and paranoia, but for most of us, the memories that stick out are American fl ags fl ying from every front porch as we sang “I’m proud to be an Ameri- can” at candlelight vigils. Once again, in 2020, our country is facing a crisis of historic proportions, but this time, there is no sweeping sense of national unity. Social media is a never-ending parade of people bickering in the comments and post- ing infl ammatory rants about why “the other side” are all evil and stu- pid. People have mostly abandoned local newspapers in favor of smirk- ing, seething cable news commen- tators. A couple of weeks ago saw people resort to literally, not just met- aphorically, screaming at each other from opposite sides of the street during protests in Hermiston. We can’t even agree about the postal service, for goodness’ sake. It feels like if tomorrow President Donald Trump said he doesn’t think pineapple goes on pizza, some of my Staff photo by Jade McDowell, File Members of the Hermiston High School football team set up the Avenue of Flags at the Hermiston Cemetery in May 2017. Republican friends would be posting commentary about why pineapple is a communist plot to destroy our country and must be banned imme- diately from all pizzas, while some of my Democratic friends would be posting about why pineapple is an essential component of our democ- racy that must be mandated on every pizza. This is not how democracy was meant to function. Human beings don’t naturally fall into just two dis- tinct categories of thought, where everyone either believes everything in Column A or everything in Col- umn B. George Washington, in his fare- well address to the nation, spent much of his speech warning that no alliance to a political party or geo- graphical region can be an adequate substitute for the nation working together for the good of the whole body. “One of the expedients of party to acquire infl uence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opin- ions and aims of other districts,” he said. “You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by frater- nal affection.” COLUMN CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES Taking the time to share my mind O ne thing the novel coronavi- rus has given me is time — an abundance of time. Rather than sleeping the pandemic away, I have engaged in activities that I normally wouldn’t take the time to do. Some are frivolous and fun, while others I had hoped would make my voice heard. I haven’t engaged in area peaceful protests — mostly because I’m concerned about social distancing. Also, I have Tammy some philosophical dif- Malgesini ferences regarding each cause. How- ever, I have some serious frustrations regarding fallout from the pandemic and actions taken by our elected offi - cials and leaders, as well as fellow citizens. I learned long before the ‘rona hit that things are rarely solved by expressing your opinion on social media. Too often, those dialogues turn into arguments and quickly result in condescending attacks on people’s character. In April, I decided to email the leg- islative co-chairs of the Joint Special Committee On Coronavirus Response — Sen. Arnie Roblan and Rep. Greg Barreto. A day later, I received a two-sen- tence response from Roblan’s leg- islative policy advisor. Although not much, in retrospect, it at least addressed me by name and was more than the generic reply I received one minute after clicking send to Barreto. “Thank you for your email. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the Capitol Building is closed to the public until further notice and staff is instructed to work from home. Your email has been received,” said the response generated from Barreto’s legislative assistant. I’m sorry, but lots of people have been working from home — and they are doing a better job than merely set- ting up their email system to send a cursory response. But even that canned reply is more than I received after reaching out to the governor’s offi ce on Aug. 20. After clicking “submit” on the web- site, this message popped up: “Thank you for contacting Gover- nor Brown’s offi ce. Due to the heavy volume of e-mails sent to Governor Brown, we may be unable to respond personally to each one, but please know that your input means a great deal to her.” Somewhere along the line, I think elected offi cials forget who they work for. Everyday citizens are encouraged to contact their representatives with concerns. The message I received loud and clear is that electric corre- spondence is easily dismissed. If this is the response everyone is getting, then no wonder people are protesting. And I have a bit of advice for those participating in peaceful pro- tests — you have to get closer to those who you want to hear your mes- sage. Holding a sign along Highway 395 in Hermiston has little impact on policy or systems. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a waste of time, as it serves to rally additional support. However, to really effect change, your target audience has to hear you. As for elected offi cials and lead- ers who don’t have time to respond to concerns of your constituents, maybe you need to hire more staff. By the way, I have experience and skills in both verbal and written communica- tion — and have proven results. Case in point, after writing “Pan- demic creates Pepsi panic” about my problems fi nding Pepsi Zero Sugar, I’ve had an outpouring of support. In addition to several friends fi nd- ing, purchasing and delivering soda to my house, Dan Mooney, sales man- ager for Pendleton Bottling Company, reached out. After my column made the rounds at the local distributor and its regional offi ce, they decided to provide me with a couple of cases of Pepsi Zero. Dan came to my house the following day with the motherlode, along with a bunch of Pepsi swag. --- Tammy Malgesini, the former Hermiston Herald community editor, enjoys spending time with her hus- band and two German shepherds, as well as entertaining herself with ran- dom musings and drinking Pepsi Zero. CORRECTIONS Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 35 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673 Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531 Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN 8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838, (541) 567-6457. He warned that political parties would become engines for “cun- ning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” to secure power for themselves before destroying the very engines that built them up. He warned that the focus would shift from improv- ing the nation to “the alternate dom- ination of one faction over another” and that such animosity between par- ties “agitates the community with ill- founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection ... (and) opens the door to foreign infl uence and corruption.” A wise man, indeed. What we must ask ourselves, then, is whether we are personally con- tributing to this sort of divisive- ness that has weakened our nation. Are we focused on what we can do together to make our community, our state, and our nation a better place? Or are we more focused on landing insults? Do we care more about what is right or about what will make our side look good? Are we looking for common ground or do we refuse to believe anyone on “the other side” is capable of having a good idea? Are we providing a calm, fac- tual voice of reason to those who are searching for answers, or letting the conversation be controlled by the most extreme points of view? Reasonable people are capable of fi nding common ground with other reasonable people. Let’s start there. Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR. Postmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838. Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2020 It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories. Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report errors. SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters should be kept to 250 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 whitehouse.gov/contact/ ——— STATE REP. GREG SMITH, DISTRICT 57 900 Court St. NE, H-482 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1457 Email: Rep.GregSmith@ state.or.us ——— U.S. SENATORS RON WYDEN STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL, DISTRICT 29 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 La Grande offi ce: 541-962- 7691 • 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Email: Sen.BillHansell@ state.or.us ——— JEFF MERKLEY GOV. KATE BROWN 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 Pendleton offi ce: 541-278- 1129 ——— 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 Email: www.oregon.gov/ gov/Pages/ share-your-opinion.aspx ——— U.S. REPRESENTATIVE GREG WALDEN MAYOR DAVID DROTZMANN 185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 La Grande offi ce: 541-624- 2400 180 NE Second St. Hermiston, OR 97838 ddrotzmann@hermiston. or.us Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be published. OBITUARY POLICY The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be published at no charge. These include information about services. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@ hermistonherald.com, by fax to 541-276-8314, placed via the funeral home or in person at the Hermiston Herald or East Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or 1-800-522-0255, x221.
