Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 7-16-20 E-edition

Thursday, July 16, 2020 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION Heavy crush of authority
again weighs downs state
“The Fuhrer” has struck once
again, mandating that citizens follow
his personal political agenda. We al-
ways hate to use references to Nazi
activities, but Adolph Hitler used the
term to indicate his absolute authority.
That represents very closely the treat-
ment of Californians by Mr. Newsom!
Laws are traditionally posed, written,
reviewed and passed by the people's
elected representatives. No one man should be given such control over the citizenry.
Here in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered what almost amounts to a complete shutdown of the economy of our state, virtually guaranteeing that mil- lions of families will suffer financial ruin.
We can't even be assured that any of these edicts from the governor's office pass Constitutional muster. I seem to remember that when the government stepped in to “help” with COVID-19, we were told that the origi- nal lockdown should only last three to four weeks. We're now into five months!
Also, it's particularly strange that churches, syna- gogues and various places of worship are considered unnecessary and are among the first facilities ordered closed by the government
One of those things of which we have regularly complained while writing this column is the general lack of awareness and instruction of history to today's college graduate. I fear that we are about to reap the bitter wind because of a general ignorance of how we got here and the knowledge to avoid some of our prior mistakes.
Over the past weekend, I had occasion to spend a lit- tle time with the History Channel and an historical docu- mentary on Newsmax Television covering and reporting on the run-up over the past century to fascism, socialism and tyranny in several countries around the world. Even a brief exposure to history illustrates the abject failure of the miscreants who delivered these isms and the last- ing destruction and damage they wrought!
During that time in which the Nazis, Taliban and oth- ers were positioning themselves to change the course of history I observed action which was very similar to what we watch on the evening news on a contemporary basis.
It seems that the run-up to the disasters of history has involved the destruction — and toppling — of stat- ues and artifacts. No one can tell you why, not even the low-lifes doing the desecration. Burning and loot- ing seem to be ever-present tools of the thugs on the street. Compare the current mess to the book burning and store front glass breakage back in the 1930s.
Kristallnacht is certainly one of those nights which will live in infamy and poses more than a passing resem- blance to the recent — often ongoing — violence which broke out across America — particularly, it seems, in cit- ies that were predominately run by Democrat-controlled regimes. Everyone is saying this is because of what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis but we never even hear his named mentioned these days.
Today seems more about defunding police depart- ments — as if the crime problem wasn't already bad enough — and providing reparations for past American mistakes going back a couple of hundred years. What is the cost of those reparations, you may ask? Num- bers we have seen run into the quadrillions. The debt incurred by each American would be about $10 million. I know that common sense is a foreign concept for most of these politicians but even the densest among us has to realize this is undoable.
There is one single individual in this country of whom we should be particularly careful. That would be George Soros, who seems so focused of the destruc- tion of America as we know it.
Fear is natural, reaction is our choice
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Fred Hall
Unpredictability can turn a world upside down.
If there is one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that fear of the unknown can have a greater effect than fear of what is known.
We can manage the things we know we fear. We can work around it. If you’re afraid of planes, don’t fly. If you’re afraid of spiders, run the other way. If you’re afraid of heights, keep your feet on the ground.
Throughout our lives we find ways to deal and live with the things that are unpleasant or off-putting to us and still maintain a relatively normal life. But as soon as you add an unknown virus, invisible in nature yet deadly to some, our world is turned upside down.
Why?
Fear is a natural human re- action to the things we cannot control. It is also the reason for many of our bias, as we tend to gravitate towards the things most common to us. And while fear is a natural human reac- tion, we often find ourselves sheltering in the things we know as a form of protection.
Nature, it seems, is much the same.
A couple of weeks ago I had a somewhat startling experi- ence. While taking out the trash midweek, I was taken aback when I found a baby kitten at the bottom of the waste can. My
first reaction was, “Oh my God! How could someone do this?”
My next thought was, “How could I leave it there to die?”
After informing the wife, we made the effort to retrieve the kitten and give it at least a fighting chance. It was di- sheveled, small and apparently weak. Not wanting to injure it, we opted to tilt the can over in hopes the cat would slide out and run free. To our surprise, the kitten came to life and fought to stay put.
We tilted it further. It held on.
I gave it a good shake. It held on. A few shakes later, it finally came out — only to find a small crawl space in the form of the lid’s handle. There it hunkered down and refused to come out.
My natural reaction was, “Stupid cat! We’re trying to help you!”
And then I realized — the kitten was more afraid of us than it was of its unfortunate circumstance.
I left it there for a while, the can on its side and freedom just outside the cat’s newfound plas- tic cave. It stayed there, even after we left, not wanting to give up the fight. In its fear, the very conditions that would ulti- mately lead to the kitten’s de- mise became the sanctuary of which it refused to surrender.
We’re not so different. When something threatens to
remove us from the only world we know we hold on for dear life. We put up a fight.
Certainly, in
today’s world,
particularly in
the days of the 2020 pandemic, there is fear. Half a year into a world pandemic, the likes of which have not been seen in over a century, the world finds itself at a crossroad. In a way, like that kitten, our world is be- ing shaken.
How we react will deter- mine not only our own fate but the fate of the world. This is no time to think of ourselves, as if you are only one at risk. And this is no time to rely on the words of politicians, as they too are in the same can.
This pandemic (a fact no man can dispute) has been politicized on both sides. And yet, there are those who would rather believe a politician than rely on the facts and scientific data. That, too, is fear.
Rather, we should trust in those who see the threat for what it is and do their best to protect us, even if we have to shake things up a bit to give us a fighting chance.
And yes, the kitten ultimate- ly ran free.
Rick Curiel is Sanger editor for The Times.
Rick Curiel
Letters from readers
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Discussing Sanger issues
Ihavehadalotoftimeto think while sheltering at home, mostly I think about good things, but sometime I wonder about the city of Sanger (Nation's Christmas Tree City). Sanger didn't have a Christmas tree in center of town last year, Why is that? I heard that a downtown business man offered to con- tribute $5,000 toward a tree. It didn't have to be a big tree, just well decorated and giving off a feeling of Christmas. I am not even sure if they had any- thing related to Christmas in the downtown park last year. I was home with the shingles.
Then there was a special on- line meeting to discuss our city manager's request for more benefits, even though his con- tract doesn't expire until 2022, this had to be taken care of dur- ing the pandemic. (Reminds me
of the rush to continue Measure S two years before it was going to expire). Apparently he knows his hometown very well, and it seems to be working for him.
There has been talk for sev- eral years about getting a hotel to come to Sanger. (The Holiday Inn was interested at one point, but the city was not). It would be good for the students who are in sports, plays and other things whose family may want to come and visit and watch. Unfortunately, there is nothing else to draw a hotel to Sanger, other than the Wal-Mart where some people stop to get sup- plies before going up to the mountains. They talked about paying a $30,000 consultant fee to advise us about whether a hotel would be successful here. As was pointed out at a council meeting, that would be another waste of money, since the hotel owners do their own research,
and they decide whether a hotel would be profitable in or near Sanger. Clovis, Reedley and Fowler have hotels, but check out their downtowns, movie the- aters, restaurants, colleges, etc.
Councilman Garza had made the suggestion to get rid of alleys and joining the properties in the back to cut down on gangs and people selling drugs from meet- ing there, bullying people and many other things. This is the best idea I have heard at a coun- cil meeting, but it went nowhere.
The only positive things in Sanger are the Woman's Club, Chamber, Fire and Police De- partment, Rotary Club, Church- es, Sam Academy, American Le- gion and schools; even though the newest Sanger High School is being built as far away from Sanger as it possibly can be. How did that happen?
Donna Bailey Sanger
Letters Policy
MID VALLEY TIMES invites letters from the public on any topic of local relevance. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or brevity, and we reserve the right to NOT publish them if they could be deemed libelous or profane. Letters should be 350 words or less, and bear the author's name, address, and phone number. Letters can be mailed, emailed, submitted via our website, or personally delivered to: Editor, Reedley Exponent, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
QUOTE
“In great affairs men show themselves as they wish to be seen; in small things they show themselves as they are.”
— Nicholas Chamfort (1741-1794)
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