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Vote for reason, respect

I’ve always chosen to believe that the majority of human beings are, at heart, honest, caring and reasonable people. That, even when we disagree, we can disagree respectfully. That, no matter how far apart we are politically, we can find shared purpose in the name of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Today, I find that belief called into question like never before.

Here in Moscow — a town that once seemed an oasis of goodwill and cooperation — we have people like Doug Wilson and Gabriel Rench deliberately inciting disagreement. They are pitting Muscovites against Muscovites and courting Fox News headlines in the name of protecting what they consider their right to endanger innocent people’s health and to put our community at unnecessary risk in the midst of a very real and truly serious pandemic. (If you question whether COVID-19 is real and a threat, see: all available evidence.)

I grew up in an era when Republicans and Democrats both valued civic responsibility and civil discourse. Those days, it seems, are over. Idaho politics have been hijacked by reactionary right-wing ideologues who act with utter disregard for common decency and who flagrantly defy good sense.

The best remedy for this toxic discord is to raise your voice for reason and respect this fall. Cast your votes for independent-thinking candidates who embody the decency and reasonableness that our current political environment desperately lacks.

Join me in voting for David Nelson for the Idaho Senate, Dulce-Kersting Lark and Renee Love for the Idaho House of Representatives, and Tom Lamar and Kathie LaFortune for the Latah County Commission. I have the pleasure of knowing them all personally and can assure you that they will faithfully and respectfully represent the best interests of all of their constituents — even when they don’t agree.

Mark Deming
Moscow

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