Sanders Co. resident believes in civil discourse

The past several years have been a trying time for our country, our state and our local community.

Many more people have become increasingly involved in what is going on in our community. This includes going to public meetings such as the Sanders County Board of commissioners meetings, School Board meetings and other events where we can share our ideas.

I have been to several BOC meetings and have found them to be very

informative and very civilized about 90% of the time. I think most people would agree that it is a good thing for people to get involved in what is happening here in Sanders County.

There have been, unfortunately, a few times when things got heated. A couple of times it was sad to see some conservatives say some inappropriate things to the Commissioners. Another time it was very disturbing to witness a liberal person stand up, addressing the conservatives and start yelling “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE, ARE YOU ALL CRAZY?”

The commissioners handled these instances very tactfully.

Recently, at a peaceful demonstration by local conservatives, an angry liberal ran across the street and confronted one of the participants and began yelling at her aggressively. Sadly, there were children present.

What kind of behavior is this??

When a person puts a LABEL on another person, it is a way of trying to rob them of any credibility and silence their voice. It is a way of saying “I am putting a label on this person so I don’t have to listen to anything

they say, and neither should you.”

If you label someone a ‘Sheeple” are you saying they are gullible and you don’t have to listen to them. If you label someone a “bully” are you saying they are mean and I won’t listen to them.

If you label conservatives as being racists or White Supremacists you are using a cheap smear tactic label, hoping to silence the voices of all conservatives. If you label someone as a conspiracy theorist you are saying that everything they say is wrong, I won’t listen to anything they say.

Jim Elliott’s article of November 17 made me very sad. Dredging up 30 and 40 year old wounds and trying to open them up and create more friction is not, in my opinion a good way to move forward.

As a “BOOMER” I sadly remember the incidents Mr. Elliott described. The younger generations may not remember or even know about these events, but they most certainly remember recent violent demonstrations by Antifa and BLM.

Fear mongering contributes to Civil Discord and can damage our community.

When Mr. Elliott described “….a young man with his belly hanging out under a dirty T-Shirt…..” at a 1988 rally. I was appalled that Mr. Elliott would talk about the young man’s appearance no matter what his sign said. This was ‘hate speech’ in my opinion.

In short, I believe in Civil Discourse and polite behavior. We need to be careful in what we say and how we act, We need to treat one another with dignity and respect.

Catherine Santisteban DeWitt, Thompson Falls