It’s Thanksgiving again: the time for family and food. Thanksgiving offers the opportunity to be grateful for those who do the work that matters.
I’m thankful for family and friends, the people who support us during difficult times and offer hope when days appear dark. People can find common ground when hope seemed lost.
Whether one is independently minded, a Republican, a Democrat, or a Libertarian matters less that the fact that there exists a willingness to compromise to move us forward.
The issues facing our family or society appear huge, but the solutions always lay within the realm of compromise. I wish we’d treat politics less like a sport and more a duty to govern.
As a farmer, I am grateful for food and the eaters who support us. The Flathead is blessed with a huge variety of local foods. Some farms are large and some small. Yet all farmers work extremely hard, spending months outdoors in all kinds of weather, to produce great products like fresh veggies and fruit, local milk, and meats.
I am thankful for the many years that the Beacon has offered me an opportunity to write opinion columns. I acknowledge that many will not agree or even read a column based on the author. I personally find that only by talking can we move forward as a community, state, and nation. No one has all the answers but collectively we advance.
I am appreciative of local leaders like John Muhlfeld, Mark Johnson, and Don Barnhart who help move the communities of Whitefish, Kalispell and Columbia Falls to be better places for people and commerce.
All three of the tri-city mayors work hard to make their cities better places to live. It’s often thankless work with few accolades, yet leadership matters greatly to people living in the community and raising a family. Without this caliber of leaders, we would see less progress.
I am thankful for the thousands of people across the valley that supports the conservation of public water and lands. Whitefish locals have done a tremendous job at conserving access to places that matter. Kalispell and Columbia Falls are close to securing into perpetuity the places that matter most.
Leaders like Sens. Jon Tester and Rand Paul have done a yeoman’s job at securing our rights to privacy and allowing liberties like opinions to matter. Sure, I agree with neither of these fine gentlemen all the time, but marvel at their ability to lead a democratic nation that deserves headway.
I am so grateful for freedom and democracy; many people and places worldwide see far too little of these precious liberties. It is freedom that allows me to write, share opinions, and publicly debate complicated issue without much fear. People in places like Russia or Syria are not offered this fundamental privilege of liberty.
The passion to lead on the many civic projects across the valley has produced a livable place worthy of us. We are as great as we allow ourselves to be and we move mountains of good projects by working together, regardless of our petty political differences. Our water is still clean, our air fresh and our public lands remain open to all. These persist as reasons many choose to live here.
The locals that keep the doors open at places like the food pantries in Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish are true heroes. They provide food to hungry kids and families. That’s work that matters.
I am grateful for the peacemakers and those who often disagree with me as it makes me a better person, more able to serve others. Thank you for being you and for reading these words throughout the years. Enjoy the holidays.