Letters to the editor, Sept. 9
Parade signs
Parades, who doesn’t love them? The fire trucks, antique cars, horses and riders, marching bands and veterans, the children, oh the children, and then into view come the signs, those political signs of the Democrats and the Republicans. Suddenly my love of parades is dimmed, my thoughts move from joy to dissatisfaction to distrust to condemnation. I don’t see America when I see those signs, I don’t see freedom nor do I see free speech, no, what I do see is party line philosophies meant to control; lies, loss of individuality, threats, hidden agendas, deliberate destruction of whole sections of society.
I see master planning designed to fool us, the electorate into believing they, the parties, have our best interests at heart when they only want to control our every move, our every thought and our children, yes, our children, for its through them they can tighten the parties political agenda.
Got your attention, do I? Unless you live on another planet or are simply a denier of reality, I’ve hit a chord of agreement that we’re headed in that direction. If you agree with me fine, but you’re not the person I’m trying to reach, nope, it’s the other person.
If you are the other person who’s reading this, maybe you have doubt. Read a book published in 1932 titled ‘Toward Soviet America’ written by William Z. Foster. The book is hard to find but find it you will, provided you look.
We are Americans, one and all; we are not political parties, names like Democrat and Republican are political parties and have agendas. I vote American, I don’t vote Democrat or Republican. We must find leaders who support our Constitution and the rule of law who will put their pledge in writing. They don’t pledge, we don’t vote for them. Next time you see a political candidate ask the above question and carefully listen to the answer.
Robert L. Starks
St. Ignatius resident
A sense of urgency
Hello fellow citizens of Lake County.
One of the more interesting points of human behavior is that we tend to take everyday things for granted. We have all caught ourselves driving to work or other destinations and suddenly a beautiful sunrise or other majestic sight will catch our attention. Meanwhile, we think to ourselves that we live in one of the most scenic places in the world and yet we can still lose sight of the beauty around us because of the everyday routine.
Folks, it occurred to me that we have been guilty of the same type of behavior when it comes to our solemn duty as citizens of this great state and country. We get so caught up in the everyday struggle for life with all of its pressures and distractions that we can lose sight of the obvious and important. Our very existence in this country is dependent on our participation in the everyday events we call politics.
In the last primary election, the voter turnout was woefully low, below 38 percent. This illustrates the point that more than ever, we seem to neglect the important because we have lost sight of the bigger picture. If only 38 percent of us vote, then only 38 percent have the say in our future and the remaining 62 percent will have no say in the decisions that will affect us all. If you are comfortable in “giving” up your right to have a say in the matter, then I hope you are also willing to give up the right to complain as well if the current situation is not to your liking.
As for me, I wish to retain the right to vote, to be heard and complain if needed. I hope you will join me this November in exercising our rights as citizens of this great country and get out and make your voice heard through the act of voting.
Brent Matson
Lake County Republican Chairman
Employment
Addressing the recent report from the Labor Department on jobs, Robert Reich wrote recently for ‘Common Dreams.org’: “The last time we had anything of this scale was in the 1930s. The last time we did anything about this on the scale necessary to reverse the trend was in the 1930s and 1940s. It is not that America is out of ideas, We know what to do...” And he goes on to say: “The problem is lack of political will to do it. The naysayers, deficit hawks, government-haters and Social Darwinists who don’t have a clue what to do would rather do nothing. We are paralyzed.”
And this brings me right to my very point. We are paralyzed by fear. And this fear starts with each of us right in our own environments. It affects our relationships, our health, our ability to think correctly, our ability to act wisely, and it feeds our addictive tendencies. It spreads like a wave and is certainly affecting our entire political system. Greed, you know, is simply an aspect of fear. And we are a nation in the clutches of greed.
The first big step is beginning to recognize and accept our own fears. They often get covered over with anger in its many forms and the myriad of everyday things which press in upon us. We do become paralyzed. And it’s a really big step just saying, hey, maybe there is something to this anger that I should look at. That’s a start. And there are many, many ways and people available to us, if we just reach out, start looking around and asking for help from those we trust.
Here is just one example: There is a local group of veterans having a weekly Talking Circle forum called The Flathead Reservation Veterans Talking Circle. This provides an opportunity for veterans, families and the public to deal with the post-traumatic stress experience by veterans. And that is surely fear-based. This group is announced in local papers regularly.
Help is always available. There is nothing quite as devastating to a person and those near and dear as when one is experiencing, hanging onto, and acting out damaging emotions.
Bob McClellan
Polson resident