[Vision2020] Open debate

[DonaldH675 at aol.com]

Vision 2020 is a forum for public debate.  No single member is or  should be 
in a position to control the conversation, set the ground rules or  decide 
what is or is not a matter of interest or a worthy topic. .  
 
Silence is assent.  If you doubt that, review the history of the  German 
people prior to World War II. Humor is a powerful weapon, even, or  perhaps 
especially, when it is pointed. It is one that I prefer to  use in the hope of 
deflecting the stones that will be literally  thrown by the enthusiastic supporters 
of a theocratic government, if their  political dreams come true.  It is 
arguably easier to pretend that no  threat to our community and its citizens 
exist. I suppose it is less  threatening (on a personal level) to ignore the civic 
and social  impact of a hate group than to go head to head and toes to toes 
with their  leadership . I wouldn't know.
 
For those that choose the path of moral cowardice,  apathy, or social 
convenience, based on an incredibly naive  lets-all-be-friends-together philosophy, 
know that you do it at the expense of  those of us who will not be intimidated, 
silenced, intellectually  befuddled by pseudo -religious babble.  It is not 
an unpleasant  task to confront bigotry, racism, and homophobia.  But it is a 
heavy  burden to tote that load for a bunch of self-styled liberals who have  
the unmitigated gall to flap their ineffective wings like ostriches  from the 
moral high ground of their own self-righteous indignation  when their 
sensibilities are wounded.
 
There is a never ending laundry lists of projects or concerns that if  
solved, or in some cases, even seriously addressed, would improve the  quality of 
life in Moscow and on the Palouse.  All of these issues are  important.  But I 
can promise you that if local government and civil  leaders are guided by a 
philosophy that doesn't support public schools, equal  employment opportunity for 
women and minorities, fair and equitable property  tax, city ordinances and 
county statues that are drawn not form Leviticus  but Idaho and U.S. code, none 
of you will give a damn about getting sidewalks  shoveled when it snows.  By 
then, you will have more pressing issues on  your minds.
 
Rose Huskey
 
And no, Dale Courtney, you do not have my permission to cut and paste this  
onto your blog site.
 
"One cannot  level one's moral lance at every evil in the universe. There are 
just too many  of them. But you can do something, and the difference between 
doing something  and doing nothing is everything." Daniel Berrigan


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