Fomenting fear, disenchantment isn't helpful

October 27, 2022

I wish that writing a letter to the editor would actually make a difference. I’m not sure that it will. The current vitriol seems unprecedented. Like many of the people who are voicing great dissatisfaction with the Bonners Ferry community and its institutions, I moved here from a large metropolitan area. I moved here 50 years ago. I had the benefits of quality education, a loving family and exposure to broad and diverse cultures.

Yet I’m not sure that I held the arrogance or self-righteousness that has been displayed recently at board meetings and council meetings. What I remember most is that I very quickly realized this community had much more to offer me than I could ever hope to match. Anything that I could have deemed unique or special about me, I realized was already here and folks were doing just fine without me.

It was humbling.

Bonners Ferry is neither Sodom nor is it Gomorrah. It is a diverse and multi-faceted community. If there is evil, it is neither organized nor wide spread. Individuals have always agreed or disagreed on religion, politics, business and everything else.

But as a dear friend of mine once said, “we may argue like crazy but if you’re stuck in a snow drift, we’ll help pull you out.” That’s why I live here and why I’ve stayed.

None of us need to foment fear and disenchantment. It isn’t helpful.