Valley Views

valley views Thoughts and a loaf of bread

Food brings people together. Maybe that’s why I’ve been baking so much lately.

We all watch the news and face frustrations and incomprehension about the decisions being made by people we disagree with. We might even start to see neighbors as others, enemies. These slippery thoughts and feelings become even more apparent during an election season with harsh words, broad generalizations, all based on assumptions rather than civil conversation between people who disagree.

Sometimes I pound out my frustrations in the dough of a loaf of bread. I’m just one person, I can’t eat as much as I produce, but that doesn’t matter as I turn the dough out once again on the counter in front of me. The scent of fresh bread is soothing, as is the act of making it.

Don’t we all just want what’s best for the people we love? We might have different perspectives on how to get there, or what “best” really is, but isn’t the sentiment the same? Yes, there are probably outliers who actually are just doing what they’re doing for selfgain or appearances. But they’re outliers. They don’t speak for the hundreds, thousands, millions of people who are out there every day just trying to do their best for the people they love with the information they have.

I’m going to add orange thyme that I grew from my own garden to this loaf of bread. They say to grow a garden is to believe in the future and I like adding that sentiment to the food that I make. A lot of hope and intention goes into a handmade food, at least for me.

I have to believe that most people are reasonable and if you sit down to have an honest conversation about why you believe what you do, and listen to why they believe what they do, in most cases we’ll have more in common than not. If we just put away the vitriol and assumptions and the hyperbole, if we tune out the extremists and just see the person in front of us, then we could at least understand where we’re both coming from, even if we don’t fully agree.

I’m going to give this warm loaf of bread to a stranger. I won’t know anything about their ideals, their beliefs, their party line. What I’m going to do when I give this away is assume that that stranger is a good person. A person doing their best in a messy world, trying to look out for the people they care about. A person deserving of a nice, warm loaf of bread on a random day.

I’m going to hope that that person passes that kindness along to another stranger.

I’m going to hope that small acts of kindness and compassion between neighbors will always be enough to overcome the walls of fear and the otherness we put between us.

A Taylor’d Approach Taylor Davison Editor, Valley Journal

Vote for your children’s future

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves. The only way they could do this is by not voting. —Franklin D. Roosevelt

Since midterm elections rarely have the pizazz of a presidential contest, a lot of eligible citizens don’t bother to vote in them. To a growing number of those citizens who do vote, failing to cast a ballot this year would be comparable to crewmembers of the Titanic abandoning their posts as the ship approached the iceberg. I’m not being hyperbolic.

Choose your own definition: we’re in a crisis, we’re at an inflection point, the shift has hit the fan. However you characterize this moment in the United States of Disruption, people across the political spectrum agree: staying on the sidelines this election is a cop out.

For the Children

To a growing number of citizens, it’s hard to fathom that anyone would feel apathetic about voting this fall. If you’re thinking about sitting out, take a minute to consider the world your children and grandchildren will inherit. If you don’t want to vote for yourself, then vote for them.

In the US—like in so many other countries on every continent—the natural environment is being battered by one catastrophe after another: from unprecedented wildfires to super hurricanes. Our interconnectedness among the family of nations means that these emergencies—as well as the floods in Pakistan, the blistering heat waves from India to Europe, and the droughts from Africa to China and, of course, the war in Ukraine—are impacting life from the gas pump to the grocery store. Will connecting these dots— as well as the others that reveal the fragile state of democracy—contribute to more citizens voting? I hope so.

There’s a growing movement of people who believe that not voting should be against the law. Think that’s far-fetched? Consider Australia. It’s compulsory for every el-

Valley Views Rob Okun

see page 11

LETTER POLICY

Letters to the editor are welcome. The content is the opinion of the letter writer and not the newspaper. The decision to publish letters is made by the editor.

Letters regarding candidates in the Nov. 8 midterm election will not be printed after the Oct. 26 issue in order to allow candidates time for response.

Letters must be 350 words or less. A writer will only be published twice per month.

Letters may be edited for content or length, or may not be published if considered libelous, in poor taste, spiteful, self-promotional or of limited interest to the general readership. Space limitations also dictate when or if letters are published.

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from page 10

igible Australian to vote in all elections and referendums. That’s a worthy model for Congress to look into adopting down the road. Right now though, whether by mail, early, or on the day of, vote.

Compared to most high-income countries, turnout in the US is below average, the Council of Foreign Relations reported in August. In the 2020 national elections, for example, just 62 percent voted. Contrast that with high-turnout countries, including Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands, at 75 percent or higher.

In 2020 only 70 percent of eligible voters were registered, the Census Bureau reported. Since in many states citizens can still register, reach out now to those you know among the apathetic 30 percent.

It’s Patriotic.

If voting to ensure that future generations have a livable planet to inhabit isn’t reason enough, how about voting as a patriotic act? Despite the term being variously interpreted by different constituencies, perhaps we can all agree on one core belief: patriotism places the wellbeing of the nation ahead of our own.

In this fraught moment, patriotism certainly means more than “public service” or “volunteering” or “being a good citizen.” Being a patriot today is akin to a firefighter rushing into a burning house, except it’s not to save the inhabitants. It’s rushing into a house divided in order to save democracy from being scorched beyond recognition.

In considering sharing these ideas with those you know—or suspect— aren’t planning to vote, remind them of these basic truths:

Voting is important because it’s the best way to ensure our voice is heard in how government is run.

Voting is important because the people we choose to represent us have real impact on our lives.

Voting is important because the freedom to vote is among our most cherished rights.

Voting is important because it expresses our commitment to each other, our country, the world and ourselves.

The actor-activist Jesse Williams has an answer for those who don’t vote. “If someone says, ‘I was making a statement by not voting,’ then you say, ‘Well, I can’t hear it.’”

Plato, more than 2000 years ago, went even further. “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

To quote nearly every US president, “Vote.”

vj

letters

Support the library

Editor,

A library is one of those resources essential to a thriving community. Our own Polson library got its start in 1912 when the town was in its infancy and a group of women met in a home and voted to form a library association. The library, with steadfast support from the community, has evolved from being housed in a corner of an office building then to a space in City Hall, and finally in 1989 to its own beautiful stand-alone building at a prime downtown location. Now with nearly 6,000 current library cardholders and high volumes of people moving to the Flathead, a renovated library facility will become an even greater community asset.

The North Lake County Library Foundation’s (NLCLF) “Next Chapter Campaign” aims to raise $2 million to renovate the library so that it will be a community hub and center for lifelong learning. Some of the new features will be: increased space for children’s programming and a new area dedicated to teens; technology improvements, including more computers; Maker’s Space for creative exploration, including a 3D printer; improved seating and ADA-compliant entry and overall library design; a community meeting room; a coffee shop.

The Next Chapter Campaign has raised $1.6 million so far and has posted a Request for Qualifications for General Contractor/ Construction Manager Services, a first step in starting actual construction in early 2023. Several major Montana construction companies have indicated they will be applying for this contract.

The project needs that extra boost of community support to get them across the finish line. Thinking of a gift? Now is the time to give. Visit their website for ways to direct your gift to this worthy project: www.polsonlibraryfoundation.org

Penny Jarecki Polson

An observation

Editor,

Recently I had an appointment at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. While waiting for my ride home I had an opportunity, for one hour, to sit and observe two ladies at an information desk. Few people actually stopped at their counter, yet during that time the two ladies were so enjoying just being together and interacting with each other. Lots of talk, smiles, some laughter, and always being attentive to business and the phones.

This caused me to think about differences in business positions between males and females. The female species tends to be more naturally interactive, more nurturing, emotionally sensitive, and more giving and willing to express compassion.

Looking at our nation’s and our world’s political business, lets appoint, elect, support and rely upon more feminine presence and energy in leadership positions. We have surely tried the alternative for many hundreds of years. Perhaps, just perhaps, it is time for this change. And from what I am observing, it is beginning to noticeably happen already.

This is something to surely think about, observe and act upon, in my opinion.

Bob McClellan Missoula