MY TURN: Seven powerful words

My hat is off to David Stoltz, for his perfect Feb. 13 My Turn title. Succinctly, his seven words excite emotional response. Using “Our way of life,” suggests that every citizen adhere to one set of beliefs and establishes a “right side” to associate. Continuing with “is under attack,” a tireless victim mentality trope, he solidifies confirmation bias and promotes fear. His opinion, which is a right I value, is a textbook propaganda piece and should be called out for what it is.

I will set aside the blind hypocrisy David completely misses, as he describes chaos and how the rule of law was set aside, while the rest of us watch the turmoil being created and the legal battles being generated from our new administration. Yes, some good may come from these actions, but that’s not the point.

David states his belief that an onslaught of hit pieces exist that threaten our local governance. He also specifically opines that Hayden City Council members are ridiculed and marginalized for following the rules. I watch our cities’ council meetings, and my repeated observation is that only one Hayden council member prioritizes arguing procedure and fails to raise relevant points to help her peers reach an agenda decision. I also note that she is repeatedly confused and unable to adjust from her prepared propaganda when the discussion does not align with her notes. While it is less important that she is a sitting KCRCC member, I cannot imagine how drained the other elected members and the city staff feel trying to not marginalize her presence.

David and I agree on at least two things. One, he advocates for proper education of facts, critical thinking and understanding history, and two, he champions good governance starting locally. But for us to start and land on facts and critical thinking, we must set aside name calling, exaggerations and the emotional response language from which 99% of his submission was written. For us to encourage good governance, we need leaders who are willing to work with their colleagues and focus on their entire constituency — not just to the minority-population that helped elect them to office.

To the Coeur d’Alene school board: I see other countries formally studying propaganda, both teaching their children recognition and observing the societal effect. With the overwhelming amount of disinformation being created online and in printed press, it’s well-overdue that we mandate teaching our children about propaganda, from grade school through high school graduation.

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Dana Silva is a Coeur d'Alene resident.