The letter pats the newspaper on the back in many respects. The letter writer is pleased that organizations like the American Legion Auxiliary get reviewed in print. After various compliments, the writer, Vern Simula, is disappointed that the newspaper won't accommodate "Indivisible Morris." BTW the paper made a bad typo in the headline for the letter, butchering "indivisible." Thus I think the paper has an obligation to re-run the letter.
Maybe the paper can also change its mind about not publishing updates from the group.
Now we get into politics. While apparently not being told there was a political aspect to the paper's refusal decision, the letter writer mind-reads and suspects there is. Vern suggests with the typical defensiveness of a political progressive that his group "may be viewed as perhaps too liberal." In parenthesis he translates "too liberal" as "not sufficiently conservative."
"Sufficiently conservative" means the prevailing sentiment in society in recent years has been heavily weighted toward conservative. Yes it has. The new organization should know that the paper's owner is Forum Communications which has a long background of being Republican or conservative-oriented. The Morris paper was once owned from within the community but no more - it's another of these businesses where the strings are pulled in a corporate office far away. The owners tend to be Scrooge McDuck types who like Republicans. So good luck in dealing with that.
But Forum Communications (of Fargo) is a media company. It must have its ear to the ground to understand and be sensitive to political trends. The enterprising Mr. Simula found the mission statement of the American Legion which states a political objective. And you can bet that a veterans service organization is not going to come out as being left-leaning. The mission statement says the Legion has "great political influence perpetuated by its grass-roots in the legislative process."
People such as the corporate bigshots with Forum do not see the Legion objectives as being truly political, because Forum's objectives, we can assume, tend toward the conservative.
Progressives in the meantime have been so left on their heels and feeling stigmatized, Donald Trump thinks he can get by with smearing this McCabe fellow by saying his "wife is a Democrat." Heaven forbid that the FBI have a high-ranking person whose wife would run for public office as a Democrat. But this is changing. The popular view is changing. Democrats are starting to do better.
We saw a Democrat win in Pennsylvania despite the fact Republicans were crying out that "you hate God if you vote Democratic." People are seeing through the smokescreen, really? At its core, it's more a matter of people in their desperation looking to the political system for a little more help, and this help is more likely to come from the Democratic side of the aisle.
Local conservatives are going to read this and gnash their teeth. Increasingly they are going to find their attitude to be futile. More and more people are going to calmly find wisdom in this new organization called "Indivisible Morris," despite the paper's decision to slam the door on them. "Too liberal (inferred)." What a farce.
Simula says the group prioritizes true humanistic aims: local school safety, health care, jobs, and wealth inequality for example.
Oh my God, wealth inequality! Those are code words in the minds of the right wing for socialism. You know, socialism, that principle that gives us Social Security and Medicare. Of course, all advanced industrial nations are a combination of free enterprise and socialism. In America we have developed this weird aversion to progressive principles despite the fact we're crying out for help because of the forces of globalization and automation. Polls show that the idea of "universal basic income" is getting more popular. Why? It's because it's increasingly a struggle to go out and pursue the American dream like in the old days. Being a young adult nowadays is downright scary.
We must make adjustments with our political system, despite what the Farm Bureau types among us might scream about it. The 3/17 Morris newspaper includes photos of Farm Bureau people rubbing shoulders with legislators at some event. The Farm Bureau people look just like how I'd expect them to look. They are no doubt blessed in their material possessions. Many of them go to a church where I'm quite certain it's 100 percent Republican.
But be cautious, you people, about the solidity of your political position now, because "Indivisible Morris" is bubbling up. "Indivisible" isn't concerned with hurting or humiliating anyone. It's much more gentle than its counterparts on the right, to be sure. It seeks to uplift and provide comfort and basic economic security to all people. Damn the newspaper for turning them away. Consider not buying the "Stevens County Times" anymore.
"A strong democracy needs well-informed citizens," Mr. Simula says.
Amen and hallelujah.
To read my "Morris of Course" post on the Trump vs. Stormy Daniels thing, please click on the permalink below.
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