Page 26 - Flathead Beacon // 3.30.16

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN AMERICA
KELLYN BROWN
A BORING REALITY
EVERY FOUR YEARS THE TONE OF THE COUN- try’s political discussion turns decidedly worse. Presidential candidates and the 24-hour news cycle clash and something, anything (often a “ga e” or scandal) needs to drive the day. And the next day, some- thing else takes its place.
It’s no wonder that when Donald Trump bemoans “lies, deceit, viciousness (and) disgusting reporters, horrible reporters,” his supporters cheer. Or when Ber- nie Sanders blasts corporate media because, “90 percent of the coverage is process, is soap opera, is polls,” his supporters do the same.
The gripes are often legitimate, but also give the impression that reporters are in an all-out war with poli- ticians and would-be politicians. Insults and allegations must be the main form of communication between the two entities. Right? No, the reality is far more boring.
My rst job out of college was working for the Associ- ated Press in Bismarck, North Dakota. Republican John Hoeven was governor at the time (he’s now a U.S. sena- tor) and his party held a super majority (or two-thirds advantage) in both chambers of the capitol. Nonethe- less, Hoeven refused to sign the budget bill his col- leagues passed and announced he would call a special session to address education funding.
Reporters gathered at a hastily called press confer- ence and I expected them to drill the governor on the ri within his party. This, after all, was the most con- tentious day of the 2003 Legislature. Instead, Hoeven provided deliberate answers to measured questions. He was happy with the overall session, there was no GOP split, and he simply wanted more education fund- ing. None in the media were yelling, each member was allowed a question and, when it was over, we each led our separate stories.
Boring.
To be sure, there are disagreements. After a county attorney took exception with a story I wrote in a Mon- tana newspaper, he called me a “dime-store novelist,” then refused to meet with me after I chased him into his o ce. It’s also true that those insults are infrequent and those grudges are often short-lived.
No one elected to o ce will agree with every- thing written, or said, or aired about him or her. They shouldn’t. But more often, at least outside the media shbowl of New York and Washington, D.C., o cehold- ers are less inclined to publicly battle the press. Instead, they’ll call or even walk into the o ces of reporters to air their grievances. That back-and-forth can be divi- sive, but it’s rarely toxic.
So boring.
The narrative that drove a recent day of press cov- erage in D.C. was whether Trump gets too much atten- tion and whether he should be allowed to phone into the Sunday shows instead of appearing on camera. For most of us, however, the process of interviewing someone is simple. Go to their home or pick up the phone.
That’s what Tristan Scott did when he wrote his recent story on Montana’s politicians’ perspective on the current presidential race. He called former Dem- ocratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer on his cell phone. And Schweitzer answered. Scott did the same with former Republican Congressman Rick Hill.
Perceived ghts between media and politicians, with both sides armed with only generalities, make a lot of press and can at once drive ratings and appeal to candi- dates’ supporters. But outside the beltway, even when there are necessary disagreements, the reality is far more nuanced. And often far more boring.
BY TIM BALDWIN
For a long time, religious beliefs have played a sig-
ni cant role in politics. In America, religious beliefs bled into statutes, both on state and federal levels. For example, past generations used religion to limit individual liberty, such as, keeping women from voting, di erent races from marrying, and alcohol from being consumed. But a di erent view of reli- gion prompted liberty movements. What is the next religious push in America?
Republicans tend to use Christianity and the Bible to impose their view of morality on the rest of society. The most notable issue for which Republi- cans have used religion is gay marriage; but the U.S. Supreme Court determined that our Constitution protects individuals’ right to obtain a state-issued marriage license. This, like other issues of history, may be a moral or religious issue, but it is essentially a dead political issue.
With courts recognizing that government has no legitimate interest in governing certain privacy interests of people, Republicans may have a more di cult time explaining why voters should vote for them as a matter of “morality” instead of Democrats. Like other liberty movements of the past, religion’s next big push may be to show that human govern- ment is not designed to impose religion or morality on society but rather to protect the individual’s right to govern himself as long as he does not harm others.
BY JOE CARBONARI
Same sex marriage complicates life. The possibil-
ity becomes greater that your loved one may hook up with someone else. The possibility, unlikely as it no doubt is, always exists to some minute degree. Odd things happen.
Limiting the possibilities for trouble at home to opposite sex relationships seems to have worked best for most of human history. For those whose physical or psychological wiring led them to same sex needs and proclivities, accommodations in cus- tom have been made.
Fewer babies may be born, but we do not lack for babies. Sex cements marriages and relationships. The likelihood that you are going to lose your mate to someone in, or leaving, a same-sex relationship is not high. Could happen, but unlikely.
The likelihood that Our Creator wanted us to show our disapproval of such behavior, for some reason, kept to him- or herself is also, to me, not likely. If the end reasoning for disapproval of same sex orientation is “God Told Me So,” I’d suggest you may have miss-heard. Think it through and talk to some of the people that you respect who are not in your normal “group.” It may lower internal tension.
Neither God nor man commands that we show disrespect to our fellows. It does not serve. It dimin- ishes the disrespectful through guilt, and the dis- respected by shame. It is unnecessary and unwar- ranted. Consider it an ecclesiastical miss-under- standing. The Golden Rule rules ... and God forgives.
AMERICAN RURAL DIANE SMITH VIVE LA REVOLUTION!
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pretty powerful disruption right now. No, we’re in the early stages of a clothing revolution.
Take Smart Parka. An entrepreneur in Toronto recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $21,000 for a winter coat that includes built-in gloves, scarf, hat pouch and tech pockets. So far, he has raised over $2M for his Smart Parka. It’s so going on my Christmas list.
And while I was at SXSW a few weeks ago, I bought ScotteVest jackets for David and me. Invented by a transplant to Ketchum, Idaho (population 2,700) who wanted to make travel wear that conveniently held all his tech gear. Our new jackets have pockets and places specially designed for today’s mobile phones, tablets, water bottles, earbuds and other stu that we seem to be carrying around all the time. It’s a hit. David calls his the “comm jacket” and he’s taken to wearing it pretty much everywhere.
Finally. After 100 years of clothing design that never really challenged fundamentals like pocket function- ality, we’re having a clothing revolution!
Let’s all praise the triumph of good ideas.
One of my favorite examples of super-simple yet transformational ideas was the introduction of wheels on luggage. Back in the 1980’s, long after the Downton Abbey notion of butlers accompanying titled travelers while managing “the luggage” had become outdated,
ordinary folks continued to schlep heavy garment bags and big square suitcases through airports and train stations regularly wrenching backs and twist- ing ankles along the way.
Then something awesome happened; somebody somewhere began making suitcases with wheels. And some company stocked and sold them. Pretty soon, we had all replaced our impossible garment bags and bulky suitcases with luggage on wheels. A seriously simple tweak saved billions of travelers from the pain of hoisting heavy suitcases over miles of concrete air- port oors. I, for one, am eternally grateful.
Evolutionary innovations like wheels on luggage or clothes designed for the century we’re actually in are tough to protect from a patent perspective. As a result, the inventors who blaze these trails often have to watch as others improve on their original ideas. Fre- quently it’s the follow-ons who make the most money.
Across America, though, from big cities to small towns, super-clever inventors are working on the next revolution. Maybe it’s a follow-on in clothing, or a sim- ple yet fundamental transformation to food or energy. It’ll look a bit like these smart clothing products; small yet profound changes seep into our daily lives and make them easier. We have a lot to look forward to. In fact, I’m going to put on my ScotteVest jacket now, jam it full of gizmos and a water bottle, and think about how lucky we are to have a front row seat to the cloth- ing revolution. Thanks to all you creative trailblazers out there making it happen.
OU’VE HEARD THAT WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE of a revolution right? Not the Republican Party
- although admittedly it’s experiencing some
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MARCH 30, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM