CIVIL WAR: Rhetoric is dangerous

Memorial Day; a time to honor and remember our fallen veterans. They were our fathers, sons, husbands, brothers and in many cases, mothers, daughters sisters and wives. Families were broken, hundreds of thousands were wounded and live a life of pain and disability. Not something you would wish on a loved one.

Yet, today, in our society, there is a faction calling for civil war here, in America, our country, our home. Have you seen the horrors of Gaza and Ukraine? Is that what they want to see here, the devastation of our homes, cities, infrastructure and environment? The killing of our families, our children? The destruction of food, water, electricity, phone service and other elements of daily life? No one wants to see that happen, but if we are not careful and vigilant and aware, it could. Violence has that habit of spreading far beyond what the perpetrators planned and it encompasses wide swaths of the country and population and it solves nothing!

The answer? Let’s try accepting one another despite our differences. Does it matter what color our skin is, what church we attend, our political leanings, our gender, or what we do to provide a living for our families? What really matters is that we are all humans with different talents and abilities that, working together, can create a common goal benefiting everyone.  

I encourage Senators Crapo and Risch and Representatives Fulcher and Simpson to lead the way toward a peaceful resolution of this dangerous rhetoric.

DONNA NORDSTROM

Hayden