Letters to the editor July 22
Not the same town
This transient town
With train sounds like a quake
Those who know don’t question
Instead we comfort a new face
With the furrowed brow and Glacier pin
Feeling the rumble ripple under
These old shotgun buildings
Tied together by railroad tunnels hidden
Beneath our feet as we drink coffee and
Remember when couches in the shop were enough
Where we could visit as we listened to the music
No need for this knick knack tourist wack
No, this town won’t fall down this time
But every rattle creates a new crack
A ghost of stumps on the lake
A warning that history always repeats
As a worker finishes the third shift
Returning home to a sign that says
The highest bidder is moving in
The time has come to pack your things
Wipe your tears and your sweat
The quake that shakes but doesn’t break
Spirit of the ones that have seen
Still remember and still hear
The siren at night calling the kids in
Now it’s just a reminder
Of the times that had been
—Sara Mushel, Whitefish
Stop the madness
It’s hard to ignore and not care about what’s happening every day to my, our, country when I know what’s going on will have permanent results.
The uncontrolled, massive invasion of thousands and then millions of illegal immigrants at our southern border is crazy and chaotic. There’s no good or rational benefit for the country. It’s idiotic. In the history of our country, it’s never been like it is now. The way people are pouring into the country every day with nothing being done.
Our federal government and President Biden are doing nothing on purpose in order to achieve their goals of permanently changing and destroying America. Biden is just a mouthpiece for the powers that be — they’re running the country now. The Marxist left, mainstream media and Big Tech are after total power. It’s beyond shocking.
If our federal government is going to behave as they are, someone has to step forward and do something. Perhaps each state that is being invaded should do what they have to do to stop the madness.
What’s going on now in the country is worse than the division before the Civil War.
—Robert Gansel, Rexford
American history
The American experiment has been a fascinating story — and a study in contrasts. We have proven to the world that a democratic republic can work; provided lives of opportunity for immigrants who faced poverty and oppression at home; fought a powerful fascist movement and won; and made our country an engine of innovation. There is a great deal to be proud of.
It is not the fault of anyone living today that our economic success was at one time deeply tied to the institution of slavery — or that the fruits of that success have not been extended fairly to the descendants of those who were enslaved.
In fact, many people of all backgrounds were allies in another great American accomplishment — the civil rights movement — and today, few people would say that racial discrimination was ever justified. That does not mean, sadly, that the effects of discrimination do not live on — in decreased capital wealth, health care disparities, unequal treatment in the justice system, and decreased education and opportunities.
That’s it — the basics of what some academics call critical race theory — but what the rest of us might just call the real history that we need in order to understand our nation, and to grow into a more just and fair society.
We should be teaching this history in our schools, just as we should teach the experiences of Native Americans, Chinese, Hispanics, European immigrants and women, as we forged a great nation from one which was created long ago for the benefit of white men who owned property.
—Gail Trenfield, St. Ignatius
America’s decline
The decline of American culture can be seen clearly in the self-absorbed characters in daytime soap operas and the outlandishly excitable contestants in daytime game shows.
The 50-60 year runs of shows like “General Hospital,” “Days of Our Lives,” and “The Young and the Restless” play-out in glittering color the general outline of our own nation’s slide after World War II. Shows like “The Price is Right,” and “Let’s Make a Deal” reveal more than prices and prizes, as well.
We are experiencing a holocaust in learning in our schools, a debt conflagration in households, corporations, and government, inflation and large-scale unemployment, mass murders, deadly political gridlock, a monstrous wealth gap, retreat of the American empire, police brutality, and civil unrest.
But none of these shows, to be sure, cares a whit about dealing with fundamental problems in our society. Instead, they do their best to contribute to them and glorify them. They provide a leading edge for the utter vacuum of civic consciousness in our country.
—Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross, Utah
Bad behavior
If you were one of the attendees at the Kalispell Independence Day parade who were loudly “booing” the Flathead Democrats, or you kept silent while others did so, then this letter is for you.
What’s with this terrible behavior to your fellow community members and neighbors? You were rude and unsportsmanlike and hypocritical. I may have a different vision of the best future I want for our children, but I am also patriotic and love our country and our state. Not a lot of moral high ground left for you to call for “civility” in politics.
And if you justify your behavior by thinking I am over-reacting, this schoolyard style bullying behavior paves the way to worse. Did you know that Kalispell Kruise attendees threw lit cigarettes and epithets at young persons this spring holding signs that said “love everyone”? Was that you or your children? Some of us went and stood by those kids the next week to keep them safe from bullying people like you.
I guess the First Amendment and waving our flag is only allowed if we agree with you?
—Jennifer Allen, Kalispell