Letters to the Editor for the week of 12/18/19
Guidelines for letters
All letters must contain an address and phone number. Only one letter per week per person will be published; only one letter per person per month regarding the same topic will be published. Feather Publishing does not print third-party, anonymous or open letters. Letters must not exceed 300 words. Writers responding to previously published letters may not mention the author by name. The deadline is Friday at noon; deadlines may change due to holidays. Letters may be submitted at any of Feather Publishing’s offices, sent via fax to 283-3952 or emailed to [email protected]
Running as a “Write-In”
I’ve never claimed to be perfect and made a crucial mistake. The day I was going to file, I was informed that was too late and wouldn’t be on the ballot. Felt like was hit by a train. How could I have over looked this! Well, like said, I’ve never claimed to be perfect.
I was told I could still run as a “Write-in.” So, I picked myself up and said, O.K., if that’s what I have to do, that’s what I will do. I got home that evening, sat down with my wife Kellie, and started executing a plan to run as a ‘Write-in.”
Looking forward to seeing and talking with everyone in Plumas County District 1 as I make my rounds in the next couple of months. If I miss you, I will leave a brochure telling you all about me with my phone number in case you may have some questions for me.
Thank you to everyone who signed my “In-Lieu of” and my “Nomination” papers, and to the ones standing-behind me and continue to do so.
John Pato
Portola
Liberal implosion
A recent letter in this newspaper ranted on wondering if conservatives are smart enough to understand what subtle crimes are. As a point of clarification, money laundering, tax evasion and campaign finance fraud are not “subtle” crimes. If convicted, persons committing those crimes face jail time. So yes, conservatives are smart enough to distinguish these types of crimes from so-called subtle ones. If you want to discuss some real crimes, look no further than what the liberal democrats are perpetrating with their pro-longed and phony impeachment proceedings. The real criminal in this sideshow is your favorite House Intelligence (an oxymoron?) chairman, Adam Schiff aided by his companion stooges, Nadler and Pelosi. This excuse for one of our nation’s purported leaders has committed more crimes than any of your “conservatives” ever have.
As for the Mueller investigation, after spending over two years and millions of taxpayer dollars, his team could not even give rise to a level of obstruction of justice let alone collusion, which, by the way, is not, in any event, a constitutional crime. What the real danger to our country is the lies and conspiracy that fomented from the likes of James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, James Clapper, John Brennan and all their fellow gutter types.By the way, Obama and Hillary Clinton were complicit in inflicting much more serious offenses against the U.S. than Trump ever even thought of doing. They escaped “impeachment” only with the able assistance of the deep state and their mainstream media friends.
Now the liberal implosion will, hopefully, be completed when the Senate spares us of this continued charade.
Bryan Hansen
Graeagle
Why do we hate?
Fear of Others: “We fear things that are different from us … Hatred is driven by two key emotions of love and aggression … “*
We love the group we feel a part of and show aggression to those who are different and whom we feel are dangerous or threatening to ourselves or group.
Fear of Ourselves: ” … the things people hate about others are the things that they fear within themselves.”*
If we are honest in evaluating ourselves, we often find tendencies we don’t like.
To continue to feel good about ourselves, we must suppress our inner “badness” or face rejection from ourselves and our group.
We project these inner demons on outsiders through hate and judgment.
Lack of Self-compassion: “The antidote to hate is compassion — for others as well as ourselves.”*
Self-compassion means you recognize and accept your darker side. When you hold hate instead of compassion in your heart for yourself, then you project that same hate onto others.
Hate Fills a Void. ” … when hate involves participation in a group, it may help foster a sense of connection and camaraderie that fills a void in one’s identity.”*
This void may involve one’s feelings of powerlessness, injustice, shame, etc.
‘Hate is grounded in some sense of perceived threat. It is an attitude that can give rise to hostility and aggression toward individuals or groups.”*
Politicians have promised for decades to improve the lives of Americans and failed to do so.
As President Trump promised, he is draining the swamp by thinking outside their box.
They like their box. It has enriched them with power and wealth.
His creative and unorthodox approach to government threatens the status quo.
The swamp creatures are afraid.
No wonder they hate him and anyone associated or supportive of him.
(*Psychology Today)
Lynn Desjardin
Portola
Education
The more we learn, the more we become aware of the vast realm of that which is still unknown. We are all self-educated. Unfortunately, many of us lack the desire to acquire a broad education. It is easier simply to accept the training that is necessary for our life’s work, and then rely upon our emotions to respond to the world around us. Education is not a commodity to be purchased. Nor is it something that a teacher can instill in us. Teachers can motivate us, and they can help create interests, but they cannot learn for us. There are many who would deny the value of education. These individuals rely upon indoctrination, upon the words of those they follow, and upon emotionally generated beliefs.
Education allows us to explore fields of interest that we never knew existed. It allows us to understand other societies, and the world in which we all live. College does not automatically imbue anyone with an education. Over the years, I’ve had many friends whose formal schooling stopped with high school, yet their educations were superior to those of many college graduates I’ve known. We live in a world of infinite variety and unlimited knowledge. That we should pass through our brief lives without taking full advantage of this great opportunity for learning is a denial of the unique gift of our ability to think. We all live in different venues, but our personal worlds are mere fragments of an enormous common reality. We can waste our lives hiding behind intentional ignorance, or we can open our eyes and minds to a world that will continue to exist regardless of our fears, anxieties and insecurity ties.
Wallace B. Eshleman
Quincy