Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/630552
OurFoundingFathers, powdered wigs and all, were dreamers. They foresaw a new order, one de- scribed with col- orful rhetoric proclaiming rep- resentation for all people and equality for all. Of course we are still working on those dreams. There was a lot to think about this week. Many of those things were related to Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and dreams. It was 400 years ago that the second part of Don Quix- ote was completed, and there is a new translation available that has received good reviews. That novel inspired "The Man from La Mancha," a musical hit from fifty years ago. The hit song from that show was "To Dream the Impossible Dream." The lyrics begin this way: To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow To run where the brave dare not go To right the un-rightable wrong To love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star Just two years before that musical Dr. King addressed the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, an event conceived and led by a mix of Civil Rights activists; it was planned to be a peaceful event consistent with the principles of Kings' Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Some of the leaders thought it might be too provocative, particularly since one of the leaders was Ba- yard Rustin who was not only a prominent Afro-American but also a homosexual. They were afraid of backlash. I was stationed at Fort Bel- voir at the time of the march, just a stone's throw from Wash- ington D.C. Apparently no one was convinced the march would be peaceful, and we had to go through crowd control train- ing which meant reacquaint- ing ourselves with "safe" use of bayonets to move folks around, and also go through the tear gas chamber, without a mask and then putting the mask on. We were unsure what to expect, but we were prepared for the worst scenario and most of us were worried about hurting someone. On the day of the march we deployed to barracks just across the Potomac, standing by and listening to the radio to hear what was going on. The USO provided books and magazines, some of which I still have. Prior to the march, there had been lots of violence connected to civil rights. It seemed reasonable that anger might prevail when 200,000 people were marching on Washington. Many pundits thought that so many angry people would not easily their exercise their proclaimed non- violent approach when faced with a reactive audience of on- lookers. Nevertheless, things were well organized and rel- atively peaceful, we were not needed, and we were able to go back to our base, check in our bayonets and gas masks and get back to "normal." "Normalcy" really means that we still have much work to do to make King's dream come true, even though King's speech still echoes with hope over fifty years later. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" We are still working on mak- ing his dream a reality, and we probably will always be at that task. Whether is it access to the polls, equal access to the politi- cal system, equal pay for equal work, equal opportunity for all, equal educational opportunities for all, or simply a fairer playing field in life. In some ways our Founding Fathers did dream "an Impos- sible Dream," hoping to create a more perfect union. I am sure they did not believe that would happen overnight. Many centuries ago the prophet Joel proclaimed that "Your sons and daugh- ters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." Isn't it great to think of our- selves as dreamers and vi- sionaries, willing to work for the impossible outcomes of freedom, brotherhood, and opportunity? We all have a dream. JoeHarropisaretired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. JoeHarrop Living in a dreamland with dreams deferred On the day of the march we deployed to barracks just across the Potomac, standing by and listening to the radio to hear what was going on. Readersupports supervisors' decision Editor: I am writing to express my opinion of the Board of Super- visors' decision, by a vote of 4-1, to bypass Supervisor Carlson for Vice Chair. Unlike Daily News colum- nists Joe Harrop and Robert Minch, I was present at the board meeting wherein Den- nis Garton was appointed Vice Chair, and at the subsequent board meeting when a num- ber of protestors showed up to oppose the board's action. Based on previous scribblings by these gentlemen I was not particularly surprised when both of your columnists took the low road in attacking and mocking the motives and in- tegrity of the good ol' boys on the board. Harrop related an imaginary conversation with Sam where he and his friend threw mud at Bob Williams and ridiculed his ability to be a role model for the county; and went on to mockingly suggest that "the Fair Political Practices folks wanted a lawman to look after him" — referring of course to Garton and Williams. Minch, for once, didn't en- gage in a conversation with his dog, but still went out of his way to mock the four male members of the board and spec- ulated that Carlson was by- passed because of her gender, and called upon the voters to run female candidates against each of the four male members of the board. As a regular attendee of the meetings of the Board of Su- pervisors I am grateful that we have board members of the cal- iber, integrity and profession- alism of Bob Williams, Den- nis Garton, Steve Chamblin and Burt Bundy. I am willing to be- stow the title of "good ol' boys" on the male board members as a title of honor and recognition. While I may not always agree with individual actions of the board, I have never questioned their motives or good intentions in doing what they honestly be- lieve is in the best interests of the residents of Tehama County. I will not speculate — as did your columnists — as to why Carlson was bypassed for the Vice Chair position, but could it have something to do with the fact that Williams and Garton are the only two supervisors not up for election this year? Chairman Williams indi- cated at the last board meet- ing that the so-called tradition of moving supervisors into the Chair and Vice Chair positions has not always been followed, and as I recall cited three dif- ferent occasions in the past when the board decided to go out of order. I believe that Supervisor Carlson, for a newcomer to the board, is showing a lot of en- ergy and promise but would re- spectfully remind her that it takes 3 of 5 votes to get things passed at board meetings. There is an old saying that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar so she might want to look inward and ask what she can do to build bridges on the board in order to gain support for her agenda. This gender free advice is based only on political realities. — Dean Cofer, Corning Columnist wrong to balk at figures Editor: Robert Minch's columns are generally enjoyable, including his poking at his fellow colum- nists. I found, however, his Fri- day, Jan. 8 column to be an ex- ception in that he seemed to be poking at the Rev. Jim Wil- son of the God Talk column for blood. Were Mr. Minch's beliefs influencing the logic of his little gray cells? Mr. Minch took exception to the position held by the Rev. Jim in his first 2016 column: That the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision on abor- tion occasions "...the greatest shedding of innocent blood in American history." It sounded right to me, so I began look- ing for numbers to establish the fact, relatively certain that both columnists spoke not of ounces or liters of blood, but of lives lost. Other than fetuses, truly in- nocent lives are hard to find; for simplicity everyone enu- merated below is temporar- ily granted the status of inno- cent. This will skew the num- bers somewhat in favor of Mr. Minch's allegation. I hope that the categories selected are among Mr. Minch's unspeci- fied contenders. Actual guilt or innocence of individuals in- volved to be determined by higher authority. US servicemen killed dur- ing America's wars 1775-1991, including combatants on both sides of the Civil War: Battle deaths 651,031; other deaths in theater 308,800; other deaths in service non-theater 230,279; total 1,190,110. Motor vehicle deaths in the United States from 1899 to 2013: Records show a to- tal of 3,613,732; add an esti- mated 33,000 per year for 2014 and 2015 for a total of around 3,679,732. Gun deaths in the United States per Politifact.com for the period have been 1,384,171. Abortion deaths since the 1973 Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision: 58,614,649 as of Jan. 10 and still counting. Decision to Rev. Jim Wilson by more than nine-to-one. A fetus is a viable human being from conception onward in the environment for which it is intended. The simplest proof, leave it alone and see what happens. Roe vs. Wade was and re- mains a terrible decision, al- lowing the taking of the most innocent and powerless of hu- man lives without punishment under the law. Since that deci- sion, these unwanted humans may be killed and disposed of pretty much as if they were un- wanted kittens. — Ben Bunker, Los Molinos Your opinions Cartoonist's take To taunt his rival and sow seeds of evangelical doubt, Ra- fael Edward "Ted" Cruz in- formed Donald Trump that the rest of the coun- try was concerned about his alarm- ing New York Val- ues, totally ignor- ing the greater danger of the real estate developer's aerodynamic coif toppling over and knocking innocent supporters unconscious with its hard candy shell. The jibe was designed as a sly, wink-wink, nudge-nudge attack resurrecting deeply buried stereo- types about urban areas that also managed to carry a faint whiff of racism and anti-Semitism. It's a dog-whistle the size of the Louisi- ana Purchase on steroids. This geographic schism has been celebrated in literature for centuries and elevated to a hoary trope by politicians in or- der to highlight their imagined connection to real rural folk. But if Cruz is the country mouse and Trump the city mouse, a lot of people are rooting for large herds of feral cats to make a speedy entrance. It's an age-old rivalry. The dif- ference between paths and side- walks. Simplicity and glamor. Open spaces or 24-hour super- markets. Porches versus high- rises. Red and blue. Mosquitoes and muggers. Meadows and low- fat caramel macchiatos. But is it fair to make sweeping generalizations solely based on longitude and latitude? Well, yes, it is. So, besides New York, what other cliches and prejudices do our little minds instantly make when presented with specific lo- cales? Glad you asked. New Yorkie Values involve a lot of yipping and the sound of toe- nails scratching on linoleum. New Jersey Values are almost exactly like New Yorkie Values but with bigger hair. New Mexico Values boil every question down to whether it goes better with red or green chilies. New Orleans Values mean par- tying like there's no tomorrow and encourages yesterday to bleed into tomorrow and the next day. New Hampshire Values believe in not just the electric chair, but electric bleachers. New England Patriots Values mean doing anything and every- thing to win, including the blur- ring of boundaries that lesser competitors might consider "the rules." New Balance Values take into account sneakers and sneaker accessories. New Zealand Values revolve around sheep and sheep accesso- ries including effluvium. New Caledonia Values indi- cate the matrix that occurs when French culture meets the remote South Pacific. Think Tahiti with- out all the hustle and bustle. New Delhi Values include not just the hustle and bustle but also cows and cow effluvium where you least expect them. Washington DC Values are a mix of New Yorkie Values, New England Patriots Values and New Delhi Values. Hollywood Values are reduced to, "Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me." Florida Values are indicative of folks who think just plain crazy is not giving it your all. Texas Values mostly have to do with barbecue, guns and ex- ecuting people, not necessarily in that order. Wisconsin Values are totally measured by how the Green Bay Packers are doing. And cheese. Arkansas Values are more family oriented, and totally un- derstand that fathers can be uncles at the same time. San Francisco Values are in- dicative of a tolerance for almost anything, except the intolerant. That we cannot abide. Berkeley Values are not as re- strictive as San Francisco Values. Madison Values are simi- lar to Berkeley Values but mit- igated by snow and cheese and the Packers. Maine Values are none of your business. Will Durst is an award- winning, nationally acclaimed columnist and comedian. Go to willdurst.com for info about his new one-man show "BoomeRaging: From LSD to OMG," and the documentary "3 Still Standing." Will Durst Fair to make sweeping generalizations based on longitude and latitude? GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Will Durst Joe Harrop OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, January 23, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4