AUGUST 19 / SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
REDSTONE • REVIEW
PAGE 11
ISSUES The people must decide how to define the soul of the nation By Richard A. Joyce Redstone Review PUEBLO – “We are in a battle for the soul of this nation,” Joe Biden said. Did anyone doubt it before he voiced it? Does anyone doubt it now? But what is the soul of a nation if not the collective souls of its constituents? We are the soul of the nation, and we get to decide the nature of that soul. That’s true even if certain groups in the nation want the national soul to be defined in the image of their ideologies. It’s always been that way. Various groups and/or individuals have always wanted the power of political and financial control of whatever society they inhabited. The battle for the soul of this nation is, and will continue to be, never-ending – I hope. It is necessary in a democratic republic for groups to clash. It is enshrined in our Constitution that because of this, they must resolve clashes and conflicts through a process of debate and voting that seeks to ensure all voices will be heard. ALL voices. And that the majority opinion rules. Fortunately, the founders of the nation saw clearly that the majority in power may represent only slightly more than half the population, and so may persecute minority groups; so the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments limit majority rule to the extent that they preserve certain rights recognized to exist for all of us. Like the “Force” in “Star Wars,” the soul of this nation has a light and dark side, and it has been the experience of my lifetime to watch as each side has gained dominance for a while and then faded as the other side grew in opposition. A while ago I wrote about having attended Woodstock 1969 and basking in the light side of the national soul even as the dark side held power and sway. The energy from that experience changed much for the good of all across this country. It was based in the principles of freedom, respect for each other, compassion
for each other, and behaving accordingly. That energy could never dominate and force everyone to embrace it because that’s not its nature. Its nature is to give and not to take in any way. It’s an ideal, and it’s worth attempting to actualize every day in all we do.
Women form a “Wall of Moms” during a Black Lives Matter protest on Monday, July 20, 2020, in Portland, Ore. On the practical side, it represents a national soul that includes, loves and nourishes all in an atmosphere of as much freedom as possible without allowing actions taken under that freedom to harm others – even one other. The dark side of our soul on the other hand wants to dominate others, wants to make them all bow to our will and beliefs or suffer the consequences, which could be severe, including death. It has no concern for forcing itself on everyone through its believers and practitioners. It has no problem masquerading as its opposite in order to lure potential recruits and turn them to the dark side, where the longed for noble ends always justifies even the most terrifying and painful means necessary to
New faces at LCF add diversity By Jeanne Moore Redstone Review LYONS – Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) is pleased to welcome Tanya Daty as our new marketing and communications associate. Tanya Daty joins LCF with many years of experience in local non-profit organizations. She served as secretary and chairperson on both the PTO of Lyons Elementary School and LEAF (Lyons Emergency and Assistance Fund). She is delighted to join LCF to once again serve her community, especially
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during this unprecedented time when it is even more important for us to rally together. It is this spirit that brought Daty and her DATY family to Lyons eight years ago. Born and raised in Canada, she lived in France with her husband Gabriel and children before immigrating to the U.S. nine years ago. She and Gabriel chose to raise their children in Lyons because of the sense of community, and the proximity to nature they found in our small town. Because her personal values align so closely with the mission of LCF, “To improve the quality of life, build a culture of giving and create positive change,” Tanya states she is excited to work with the Lyons Community Foundation. Our board members are thrilled to welcome her because of her pas-
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achieve them, and where might makes right, regardless of laws and lawful processes to the contrary. A tyranny of the majority is what the Trump Republican loyalists and Trump supporters want in the end. They will use chaos and fake news and other false infor-
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mation to achieve it legally, but illegal acts are also on the table. They are and have been thumbing their noses at the laws and constitutional processes we use to govern ourselves and they are doing whatever will bring them more power. Gerrymandering is a prime vehicle for this. The goal is noble for them. Power in the long term, the power to suppress the light side of the national soul and keep it suppressed, is the goal. Those who want that kind of national soul believe they are on the light side. How could they not? It’s so seductive to suppress others in the belief you are the good guys, doing the will of God, for the betterment of all. Such was always in the mind of the Inquisitors, during whose time huge numbers of inno-
sion to invest herself in the betterment of the Lyons community and her gifted ability to express her love and compassion for others. Tanya will begin her role as our Marketing and Communications Associate on September 1. Please Join Lyons Community Foundation in welcoming two new members to our advisory board. Kate Schnepel and Ravi Gandh join Jeanne Moore, Gail Frankfurt, Claudia Kean, Pam Freeman, Josie Wratten, Julie Jacobs, Leam Blackwood and Sharon Lynn on the 2020 LCF Advisory Board. Kate Schnepel: My family and I moved from Park City, Utah to Lyons in 2019. My husband Brett is a pilot for Southwest Airlines and we wanted to be reasonably close to Denver International Airport. While we explored many towns along the Front Range, Lyons is the one that immediately felt like it could be home. We were drawn to the small-town vibe, the town pride that pracSCHNEPL tically exuded from every local we met, and the gorgeous rivers and mountains. We settled into an historic home, right downtown, and felt embraced by the community from the start. I have worked in communications and marketing in the non-profit realm for nearly 20 years, primarily with animal welfare organizations. For the last few years instead of working full-time, I have been taking on part-time freelance work to allow myself time to focus on our six-year-old daughter, Vivien. I’m excited to be able to use some of the skills I’ve acquired in my career to help LCF and the people of this incredible town we’ve come to love. Ravi Gandh: I am a technology consultant working with clients on solving
cents, mostly women, were tortured and killed by the servants of God in the eternal battle with Satan. Those Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters who believe in the simple commandment “do unto others what you would have them do unto you” or “do whatever you want, just don’t hurt anyone,” or “love, and do what you want” and believe in the words of our Constitution and in the processes it sets forth by which to implement the vision behind those words, can’t be just a few. In fact, it must be the majority. And if so, then I find it difficult in the extreme to believe any of them would vote for the suppressive ways of the dark side. I cannot imagine, as I watch Democrats debate whether health care should be universal among us and which is the best way to do that, all while Republicans have offered nothing but the ever more expensive status quo on health care for well over a decade, that anyone in the nation would deny health care to the poor or bankrupt those in the middle class who need it. Yet I know many will vote for those who would deny it or profit exorbitantly from it. They will vote that way out of party loyalty, religious loyalty, to preserve real and false beliefs and hopes – almost any reason except rational examination of facts and intent. We’ll know for certain on November 3, 2020. Take a long look in the mirror on that morning and every morning from now until then. Make it a very long look. Then decide which side of the national soul you want the nation to call its own. Vote accordingly. Richard A. Joyce was a retired professor in the mass communications department at Colorado State University-Pueblo. He was an award-winning journalist who served as managing editor, and subsequently editor and general manager of the Cañon City Daily Record from 1988 to 1994. The opinions he expresses in this column are strictly his own, and do not represent in any way the views of anyone else at the Redstone Review. Richard Joyce died on February 2020. He wrote this column in September 2019.
their business process needs for the past 17 years. Outside my work, I am a hobbyist photographer and videographer. I was born and GANDH brought up in India and moved to the U.S. in 2011. We moved to Lyons in 2018. My little family includes my wife Nadia, our five-year-old daughter Pia, and our one-year-old son Arian. We also have a furry kid named Orca, a Newfoundland. LCF Grants and Grant Review Committee The Lyons Community Foundation is now accepting applications for grants for the 2020 grant cycle. In addition, our very own local grant-writing expert, Lori Stott, has created a Grantwriting Tips Sheet that all applicants should review for additional information on how to write the best grant application possible. The Grant Application and the Grantwriting Tips Sheet are available at https: // www.lyonscf.org/community-support-grants-infoand-application.html. LCF also needs community members to participate on the Grant Review Committee, which is the group that will review and consider the applications and make recommendations to the LCF Board about grant awards. This is an excellent way to take an active role with LCF and to help determine which of our worthy applications will receive grant awards for 2020. Participation involves attending two meetings, which will be held remotely this year, and reviewing and scoring the applications received by LCF for the 2020 grant season. The application is available here: https://www.lyonscf.org/grants-reviewcommittee.html. Jeanne Moore is the Chair of the Lyons Community Foundation Board of Directors.
