Presentation on Prop. 8 looked like 1950s again
I attended the “Yes on 8” meeting in Lakeport, Aug. 27, at the Catholic church. What I observed was a group of people in fear of change. I read through the material handed out and found many false statements made. Using a pen I crossed out the word “gay” and replaced it with the word “black.” I re-read the material and found myself sitting in a meeting back in the ”50s!
What the individuals in the room do not accept at this time is the simple fact that marriage equality is a core civil liberties issue. Like freedom of speech and freedom of religion, the freedom to marry the person you love is an essential part of what it means to realize the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But I must say, society has come a long way on this topic, once never even spoken of. I feel so very blessed to have lived through this time in our history, doing my part to effect change.
Lenny Matthews
Lucerne
A day that will always be remembered
There are days in your life that you look back on and say, “That was a wonderful day and I”ll remember it as long as I live.” July 4, 1938, was such a day for me. Perhaps a hundred Ridgels gathered on the banks of the Tickfaw River in Louisiana, caught a great number of perch and catfish, and had a humongus fish fry. There are fewer days that you realize are such days even when they are happening. Fishing, swimming, laughing and playing, even as it was happening I knew I would remember that July day forever with joy.
The annual Lake County Historical Society Potluck Picnic in Lakeside County Park was such a day. We had so many people there that we almost ran out of food. Almost.
Our speakers were geologist David Adam of Mendocino College, County Supervisor Rob Brown and Public Services Department Analyst Jacqueline Armstrong. Their subject was Mt. Konocti. David spoke on tectonic plates and how Konocti got there; Rob and Jacqueline talked about what we were going to do with it if the county bought it. They needed very few maps since the mountain, itself, loomed up there a mile high above them. For most of you who have never been to the top, let me say the view is indescribable.
As they spoke, my mind wandered to the large number of people who had come. They spilled over from our area. I realized that this event was like a Norman Rockwell painting ? children screaming with laughter on swings, baseball on the side and listeners sitting at rigid attention with chins in their hands. I leaned against one of the huge valley oaks that shaded our gathering and gazed across our blue, blue lake into the distance.
I wondered how many knew how incredibly fortunate we are to live in such a happy peaceful place. Where do such places exist anymore, especially under such blue skies, happy climate and cheerful people that we have here?
I can thank the two cooks, Mike Weeden and Kevin Engle, but I can”t begin to thank all the people who organized and made it all work. I didn”t organize them; they just drifted in and organized themselves. Some were total strangers who wandered in. That”s the kind of organization the Lake County Historical Society is.
Randy Ridgel, president
Lake County Historical Society
Hypocrisy is rampant at home, too
It always amazes me how our country has such greatness and such hypocrisy at the same time. For example, a few months ago I served on a jury in Clearlake. What an honor! I was impressed both by our justice system and the objectivity of my peers. And, last week I visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was both the author of The Declaration of Independence (which I encourage you all to re-read from time to time), and the owner, in his lifetime, of more than 600 slaves. Those slaves worked six days a week from sunrise to sunset to maintain Jefferson in his lavish lifestyle. Jefferson was aware of the intellectual conflict, but apparently not motivated enough to resolve it.
A more recent example is President Bush castigating the Chinese for failing to allow individual freedom to its citizens. President Bush lied to his citizens about WMDs and about Iraq being behind 911 to drag us into a war that has killed, if we can believe the boys at MIT, over a half-million people. He is not standing on the moral high ground when he berates the immorality of the Chinese.
Interestingly, I had just finished reading a book called “The New Asian Empire.” The author points out that since the Chinese have gone, at least in part, to a market system, they have raised a couple of hundred million people out of poverty. And, currently the Chinese are training lawyers and judges (for the defense of property, not civil liberties, but hopefully the one will follow the other). Additionally, half the things I own are from China, and if they are so evil, how come President Bush, as well as past administrations allow them to import their goods to the U.S.A? Why does the Bush Administration borrow large sums of money from the Chinese to finance the war in Iraq if they are so bad?
China should give civil rights to its citizens. President Bush does not have the moral standing to offer that advice. I wish that we could be what we say we are.
Nelson Strasser
Clearlake
Don”t forget to write!
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