By Martha Quillen This year’s Fourth of July celebrations will likely be less boisterous than usual because Americans are ailing. Coronavirus, however, may not be the most serious challenge facing us this year. This spring, President Trump was being his belligerent self, threatening to shut down Congress, blaming Obama for the pandemic, and revoking health …
By Martha Quillen Together is now a buzzword for correct pandemic responses. We’ll get through this together. We’re in this together. Awhile back, the world got polarized. Exactly why isn’t clear, but furiously embracing hard-line, antagonistic stances became normal. Now, however, COVID-19 has pushed us into isolation and yet we’re clamoring for togetherness. Under the …
By Martha Quillen Welcome to modern America, a place where citizens are divided by culture, faith, class, and ethnicity, yet are thoroughly connected by government, the Internet, social media, and often in their daily lives. But in recent decades, partisan rifts have grown, and today our politics are as fraught as they were during ‘Nam …
By Martha Quillen Today the world seems to be locked in an existential crisis, with people from far and wide wondering: Who are we? What are we? Where are we going? And Americans are said to be more partisan, divided and antagonistic than they’ve been since the Civil War. In late January, Bret Stephens, a …
By Martha Quillen ‘Twas some weeks before Christmas and all through our state, The people were trying to temper their hate. Then one night I pulled on warm mittens and stockings And headed downtown for some last-minute shopping, And there in the shadows, near where I had parked, A couple of council members stood in …
By Martha Quillen Lots of things in the United States have run awry in recent years, including climate patterns, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, shootings, partisan politics and fake news. But perhaps the element that’s run most amok is us, we the people – America’s citizens, candidates and leaders. Today, some places are bustling like never …
By Martha Quillen I used to be a news junkie, but even I find modern politicking exhausting and somewhat pointless. I once harbored the idea that our elected officials represented the people’s mandate, but today there are seldom mandates. Now, elections are often ridiculously close, probably because Americans usually elect partisan players who deliver partisan …
By Martha Quillen Americans persistently gripe about negative campaigning, back-biting politics, and candidates who talk more about their opponent’s shortcomings than their own intentions. Yet this sort of campaigning persists because fueling disgust works. Disgust is, according to psychologist David Pizarro, one of the easiest emotions to elicit, and it unduly “influences our moral beliefs …
By Martha Quillen Today in the U.S.A., ordinary citizens regard their political opponents as dangerous. Political anxiety is creating an almost universal sense of injustice. In the July 11 Mountain Mail, frequent contributor Linda Taylor addressed that phenomenon in a letter to Judith Ann Smith, who had previously expressed concern about the influence of Democrats. …
By Martha Quillen
After Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain committed suicide, news sources focused on our nation’s escalating suicide rate, and some concluded our entire society is sick. But that’s hardly a novel idea in our era of school shootings, factionalism, and increased levels of opioid addiction, obesity, suicide, inequality and scandals that reveal sexist and racist attitudes.
By Martha Quillen
If you look at the big picture, the United States is doing very well. Per capita income is up, and murder rates, war deaths, and unemployment are down. But Americans are increasingly unhappy. The World Happiness Report (an independent project published annually by the U.N.) indicates the U.S. dropped from 14th place in 2017 to 18th in 2018.
By Martha Quillen
Mention America’s Great Divide today and most people will think of the partisan divisions growing between Trump supporters and critics, blacks and whites, men and women, and other political rivals. But when I first moved to Colorado the most talked-about Great Divide was the geographic barrier that divided rivers flowing east from rivers flowing west.
by Bill Hatcher Lantern Books, 274 pages ISBN 9781590565742 Reviewed by Martha Quillen Principles of Flight is a memoir and a treatise against war, sexism, religion, capitalism, militarism, government policies, and eating meat. It contains lots of geographic color, general information and political commentary. But it has the spirit of a literary novel, and is …
By Martha Quillen
For years now, the media and Pew Research reports have indicated Americans are growing increasingly partisan, which is generally characterized as a bad thing, and has been credited with spurring extremism, gridlock, Congressional ineffectiveness and politically motivated violence. But what shocks me in recent years is not the national news; it’s how much vitriol is making its way into our local newspaper.
By Martha Quillen
I never believed in the possibility of universal peace and understanding, but I went to college in the late 1960s when students clamored for peace, equality, black rights, women’s rights, grape workers’ rights … And I believed things would improve. Fifty years later it’s clear that raging, marching, rioting, and otherwise flouting authority may not be the best way to champion fairness and endow all people with liberty, equality and justice. But negotiation, compromise and cooperation aren’t working either.
So now what?
In January, local resident Monika Griesenbeck applied for the Salida City Clerk position. In a preliminary vote, the council approved her four to two, and several of the new members said nice things about her. I saw that as a clear indication that Salida’s new mayor and council were going to put rivalries behind them and serve everyone. And I thought that was great.
But I was wrong. During the last six or eight years, Salida has fostered two opposing camps that tend to be bitterly divided. Last fall Griesenbeck and several associates who share advertising and ideas ran for city council and lost en masse. But two years earlier, the same contingent won en masse.
I was afraid our town was fated to yo-yo back and forth forever. Then for one whole day I thought, Salidans were finally going to work things out. But scores of angry opponents weighed in, demanding to know why Monika should get a political position after they defeated her, and Alisa Pappenfort was appointed city clerk.
I’d hoped Monika’s appointment could spur some healing, but I’ll admit it was a long shot. Monika and some of the council members are old rivals and probably would have had difficulty working together. But I feel for Monika and her supporters – who wrote lovely letters praising the council’s initial decision. They are doubtlessly disappointed and justifiably upset. This is the sort of thing that makes sectarian fissures widen, especially considering how hostile local political correspondence has gotten in recent years.
I was excited about the council’s acceptance of Monika’s application, but my view had nothing to do with Alisa. I’ve known Monika and Alisa for decades, and they’re both smart, tough, hard-working and reliable – and they have both been very good friends to me. I would have preferred either one of them over dozens of council members I remember.
By Martha Quillen
‘Tis the season to look back at the past year and make resolutions for the next, but given the amount of violence and political discord in 2017, what sort of resolution is apropos? We could all promise to exercise, eat better, work harder and get more organized, and if we actually accomplish those things, it will be wonderful, not to mention astounding. But given the animosity that’s tearing our country into partisan pieces, is self-improvement enough? Or are we in need of far greater reforms?
By Martha Quillen
During the second week of November, most of my Facebook friends were posting glad tidings about both the national election results and Salida’s recent city council election. I should have been elated myself, since I voted for winner P.T. Wood. Wood struck me as well-informed, amiable and less partisan than his opponent, and I hoped he might inspire earnest discussion and cooperation.
But with that said? I’m not sure collaborative politics can work right now, because whether the subject is national or local, political discourse tends to be antagonistic and reduced to talking points and reflexive arguments.
I used to weigh in on whether I wanted trees planted or sidewalks repaired in Salida, but that was before accusations, counter accusations and perpetual charges of rudeness, misconduct and incompetence started dominating Salida’s public affairs. Six years ago, I routinely voted for council members and mayors, but in the last five years? I often skip that part of the ballot because local campaigning is so freighted with allegations and suppositions it would take a police investigation to sort it all out.
And I personally don’t feel comfortable even talking about, let alone deciding, whether assertions by Eileen Rogers are more or less valid than Jim LiVecchi’s claims that her assertions were libelous. It’s not that I don’t believe there are things worth fighting over, but I don’t think Salida’s procedural and line item budget issues are in that category.
On the other hand, however, I don’t actually think that’s what we are fighting about. All too often, modern issues are secondary, and sometimes totally insignificant, in comparison to the hostility displayed, likely because what citizens are really fighting about is who matters, which is downright wrong and un-American. But at this point, our political process has divided the whole country into a patchwork of conflicting peoples, and it has us battling over whether red or blue, black or white, rich or poor, Northern or Southern, Idahoan or Ohioan, administrative professionals or blue collar generalists should prevail.
By Martha Quillen
By October, I found myself thoroughly bewildered by conflicting viewpoints about Salida’s attorney, Ben Kahn. To hear local activists tell it, he is either terrific or incompetent, which put me in a wait and see mode. But then a candidate told me he thought getting rid of Kahn was an important objective, and I thought in that case I’d better re-evaluate some things before I vote.
By Martha Quillen
Everything I ever really needed to know I could have learned from my dog. But for some reason I didn’t realize how smart he was until after he was gone. Bodie died last month (with a jolt of assistance from the vet). He’d started getting sick about three months earlier, and the vet prescribed an antibiotic.
What Do Affordable Housing, Equality, and World Peace Have In Common? By Martha Quillen A story in the July 6 Mountain Mail made me laugh – until I realized it wasn’t a joke. The article was about how Jackson, Wyoming, planned to address “its worker housing shortage” by establishing a parking lot where workers could sleep …
By Martha Quillen
I’m in the midst of an enormous overhaul, emptying closets, file cabinets, book cases and drawers, combing through years of detritus, and getting ready to revamp my life. Where am I going? What am I going to do? I don’t have time to contemplate that. I have forty years of mementos to sort and a shed to clean. And I need to get it done ASAP.
By Martha Quillen
What a coincidence; the theme of this month’s magazine is music, and I’d been planning on writing about harmony for more than a year now. Of course, I hadn’t planned on writing about our local music scene, because I don’t know anything about it.
But I’d been reading about some of the ways various economists, psychologists, historians and journalists think we can address our political problems without undue discord. And I’d intended to share some of their ideas once the election was over. At this point, it seems as if the hubbub over the 2016 election may never subside.
This is clearly not a good time for harmonizing. In recent years, our world has been transformed by a seemingly limitless flow of information which provides enough material for people to compose whatever reality they want, and Americans clearly aren’t choosing the same one.
In previous Centrals, I devoted considerable space to fretting about people’s increasing tendency to embrace highly partisan, diametrically opposed views regarding news, issues, facts and even truth itself. A lot of critics blame social media for that trend, because users tend to form like-minded communities, but I’m not so sure about that.
I figure journalists, networks and websites are just as responsible, since they often rely on gossip, sensationalism and controversy to build their audience. And political campaigners certainly play a role, because they tend to get derailed by financing, and who’s with them and who’s not, and what’s wrong with their opponents.
And the tendency of public officials to focus on their own agenda – rather than on workable solutions for the voters – encourages gridlock, stasis, lies, corruption and anger.
So is our process oriented toward picking leaders? Or fights?
By Martha Quillen
Surprise! The November 8 election delivered a shocker, not just to Democrats, but probably even to Donald Trump himself. From the beginning of the 2016 season, Trump was the candidate whom reporters noticed. Even when Hillary Clinton was deemed the presumptive winner, Trump was the media star. Pundits and pollsters kept saying Trump’s chances were almost nil, but Trump won.
Afterward protesters marched in the streets. Then some citizens urged Electoral College participants to overturn his victory, and I was astounded. What would happen if they actually succeeded? Riots? Shootings? Pandemonium?
The answer is obvious, because subverting and repressing other people’s rights, opinions and votes is nothing new. Districts are gerrymandered. Polling places get shut down. Complainants are shunned, booed and heckled at public meetings. Drifters, minorities and street people are harassed because they look different. And America’s poor, homeless and unemployed frequently get disparaged by national and local governments and citizens alike.
Violence is common in our society. So I suspect our first priority today should not be to attack our opponents or ignore their concerns. We’ve been doing that for decades, and it has clearly made things worse.
Our current level of distrust is alarming. This season, I’ve heard perfectly sane citizens say there’s undeniable proof that the Clintons killed Vince Foster and that Foster wasn’t their only victim. I’ve heard all about how Hillary Clinton planned to put gun owners in concentration camps, and how Trump was going to round up and torture immigrants and Muslims. And I’ve heard about how both Clinton and Trump planned to plunder the public monies.
And since the election? I’ve heard tales about Chicano kids who have been so traumatized by Trump’s victory that schools have sent them home to assure them that their parents hadn’t already been deported. I’ve likewise heard stories about Islamic children who can’t be lured out of their homes.
By Martha Quillen
Most people think they know the difference between little white lies and huge deceptions; and simple, ordinary facts and profound truths. But do they? Psychologists warn that when verifiable facts collide with our cherished beliefs we tend to disregard the facts. But most of us assume questionable perceptions only sway other people, not us.
And it’s obvious that people judge their rivals and opponents more harshly than they judge themselves and their friends and allies. Rudolph Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump prove that point. Their disgust with Bill Clinton’s indiscretions and Hillary’s enabling is almost comically hypocritical. But does that make it wrong?
By Martha Quillen
What happens when catastrophe strikes and emotions are running so high that words are inadequate? People often gather at memorial services or disaster sites to express their sorrow. They light candles, leave tokens, say prayers, sing, cry and comfort one another. And for awhile, they feel as if they are one people, mourning together.
But that seldom lasts. Before long, citizens start clamoring for their government to do something. But they almost never agree on what. Investigate more people? Make arrests? Deploy the army? Detain dissidents and immigrants? Fortify the borders? Outlaw Islam? Exile foreigners? Torture someone?
In a column posted on Wired.com, Issie Lapowsky called Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg “one of the most skilled politicians of our times.” That observation came after conservatives accused Facebook staffers of suppressing conservative content in its Trending Topics feature. In response, Zuckerberg invited more than a dozen prominent conservatives to a meeting in the Silicon Valley, and the attendees (who included Glenn Beck of talk radio fame and Jenny Beth Martin, a co-founder of the Tea Party) came away satisfied and appreciative.
By Martha Quillen
I’ve always thought of Salida as a sweet, old-fashioned sort of place with picturesque houses, tree-lined streets and a bandstand in the park. To me it seems a lot like River City, the fictionalized Iowa town in The Music Man.
Donald Trump claims he can “make America great again,” but when did it stop being great? The United States is the richest, mightiest nation on earth. It has the highest GDP and most powerful military. Yet the 2016 presidential races are exposing a dark, depressing aspect of American supremacy.
By Martha Quillen
It’s hard to know whether the most serious problem facing our world today is rising temperatures or rising tempers, but perhaps they’re related. Maybe tempers are rising because modern life confronts people with so much that seems out of their control, such as climate change, war, terrorism, escalating costs and changing technology.
By Martha Quillen
So far this season, the 2016 candidates have insulted immigrants, refugees, environmentalists, Muslims, Christians, the unemployed, undereducated, and whoever else was handy. And in the least charitable campaign ever, Donald Trump promised to kick out Mexican migrants; forsake homeless refugees; keep out Muslims; and arm our southern border against exploited children trying to escape Latin America. Trump also threatened numerous countries directly, challenged everyone who criticized him; scared the Brits; alarmed the Pope; and convinced half of America he’s dangerous.
By Martha Quillen
Many Americans are disillusioned with our political system, and some are completely fed up with government, but Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig thinks we can fix things. Or even if we can’t, he thinks we have to try. And Lessig is doing just that. He’s trying to overturn Citizens United, reduce political corruption, and give ordinary people a more equal voice in our participatory democracy.
By Martha Quillen
Ahhhh, America the beautiful, my country, sweet land of liberty, home of the brave, to thee I sing – even though we Americans sure have a knack for revealing our dark side when things go wrong.
And once again we are splitting into furiously oppositional factions, with an enthusiastic Republican promising to lead us into a stunning victory over “radical Islam.” And the Democrats are pretty much avowing the same thing – except the Democrats are carefully calling ISIS supporters “radical jihadists.” And presidential candidates are taunting our current president. And U.S. citizens and governors are crassly dismissing the horrifying plight of fleeing refugees.
by Martha Quillen I used to hate the idea of mixing politics and religion. I assumed politics were about public issues: schools, roads, disaster relief, regulatory agencies, courts, prisons, trade agreements…. And religion was about personal matters: What do I believe? What’s right? Wrong? Good? Or evil? Why am I here? What is my purpose? …
by Martha Quillen Two score and six years ago, Ed Quillen and some of his friends started musing about whether Wyoming could be taken over by hippies (in a nonviolent manner, of course). It was a crazy idea, but the events unfolding in 1969 almost made it seem feasible. Student riots, sit-ins, and demonstrations rocked …
by Martha Quillen Do We Still Hold These Truths to Be Self Evident? Remember that declaration about all men being equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? And that concept of government of, by and for the people? Sometimes I wonder whether Americans still believe in …
by Martha Quillen Getting citizens, parties and government officials to communicate, cooperate and work together is nigh impossible these days. But despite several decades of growing dysfunction, I thought we would eventually work things out, until I read Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hateful Acts …
by Martha Quillen The transfer of wealth from America’s middle classes to those who already have the most continues – with very little resistance. “Why Workers Won’t Unite,” an article by Kim Phillips-Fein in The Atlantic this April, explores why laborers haven’t come together to reverse this ominous trend – and also why old-fashioned economic …
by Martha Quillen Americans Are Still Strong, Courageous and Bold, But Courage May Be Overrated Are Americans driven by unfounded fear and anxiety? According to an article in the March issue of The Atlantic, our fears regarding crime and terrorism are way out of touch with reality. With backup from numerous experts and studies, Jonathan …
by Martha Quillen I’m really concerned about American politics. Our public discourse has been divisive and immoderate for decades, but the citizenry never seemed as burned out, fed up and over it as some of my friends and acquaintances do now. People tell me that our political process is broken and bankrupt, that it’s been …
By Hal Walter
224 pages, Out There Publishing; 1st edition (2014)
ISBN: 978-0967714813
Reviewed by Martha Quillen
Whether Hal Walter is about to get pulled over a cliff by his unpredictable Jenny, Full Tilt Boogie, or he and his wife are sitting on the edge of their seats at a grade-school performance hoping their son Harrison won’t fall prey to a sudden emotional outburst, this book is an incredibly candid account of a man trying to do his best.
When the book opens, Hal is a champion pack burro racer who is getting older and a little bit slower. He yearns for one last win, and a friend assures him that Boogie is his best bet. She’s beautiful, graceful and uncommonly fast – a runner born.
by Martha Quillen In The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, Stanford professor Philip Zimbardo illustrates how ordinary people can be incited into acts of almost unimaginable violence. “The process begins,” he warns, “with creating stereotyped conceptions of the other, dehumanized perception of the other, the other as worthless, the other as all-powerful, …
by Martha Quillen Republicans and Democrats seldom agree on anything, and Congress is determinedly divisive. But what about us? Do we still agree on America’s founding principles? Do we still believe in the proposition that all men are created equal? And that people have certain inalienable rights, among them Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of …
by Martha Quillen Whom do you trust? I don’t trust people because they’re reputed to be experts. Or because they write books, or say they’re Christians or enlightened or accredited. And I don’t trust FOX news commentators, MSNBC personalities, corporate spokesmen, President Obama or Salida city council members and administrators to tell me the whole …
I went to Aspen last weekend because Ed’s book, Deeper Into the Heart of the Rockies, which was compiled and edited by our daughter Abby, was a finalist in the Colorado Humanities 23rd annual book awards. We didn’t win, but it was nice to see the stunned joy other writers displayed upon winning. Perhaps more …
by Martha Quillen Why do we buy bad food, dubious diets and crazy cures? And why hasn’t a half-century of environmental activism done more to protect our food products? When I was twelve, a friend was supposed to come over one Saturday, but couldn’t because her nineteen-year-old cousin had died in his sleep – and …