Only dreaming
To the editor: Wow, just think, Northwood needs an economic development director – full-time, but can’t do it or afford it. Gee whiz, let me daydream big-time!

Oh, crystal ball – let me see the possibilities for the future of Oregon. Call it Christmas future.

Vacant Navarre Avenue Food Town = The Andersons; vacant bank and tire center in front of Kmart = Outback Steakhouse or Red Lobster; vacant lot next to Bob Evans = U-shaped mini-mart for assorted small businesses like Bath and Body Works or Bed, Bath and Beyond or mom-and-pop businesses; Golden Jade “burn-out” = Golden Corral; empty bowling alley = Kohl’s; property at Wynn and Navarre = JoAnn Fabrics or Michael’s; property at Lallendorf and Navarre = surprise me!

OK, it’s time to wake up now. Oh, gee, is it only a dream? Hmmmm – I believe!
Barb Meyers
Oregon

Spirit of giving
To the editor: I wanted to give a special thank you to Bob Marquette and his many, many volunteers for the excellent job that was done this year to support over 265 families in the Oregon Community.

The volunteers are many and range from organizations to Oregon school children to a number of individuals. These volunteers donate their time, money and food and other items to this program. Many of these people are living on the edge but still give what they can.

Bob and his group of volunteers work the entire year to make the holiday season special for people who are struggling to make ends meet.

I am pleased to be able to assist and hope that the spirit of giving lasts the entire year.
John Eisenhart
Oregon

Compromise or conservatism?
To the editor: I am saddened, I am angry, I am incensed.

The great budget debate is history. The charade is over. The politicians’ opportunity for national political theater is finally past. And very soon, if the country survives another few months, we will again be treated to the same worthless nonsense.

As the saying goes, “hope springs eternal.” I believe we all hoped something of substance would be the result of these negotiations – that real and true budgetary reform would be given a chance. But as is consistent with the common politicians of every generation, they again were unwilling to make the hard, the unpopular and the necessary choices. Oh, where are the statesmen? The common politician asks the question “How can I compromise today?” whereas a statesman is willing to stand on principle and say, “I draw the line here and will go no farther.” Perhaps, though, the most worrisome thing of all is the lack of political will openly demonstrated by those who want to wear the label of conservative.

Today, many of our society’s foundational conservative principles are under vicious assault and in danger of being redefined according to the modern liberal lexicon. Maybe it is time to again define what is conservatism.

Fortunately conservatism is not something that needs defining, as it is self-defining just as is, for example, marriage. Because one is more conservative than those on the liberal end of the political spectrum does not make one conservative. Nor does invoking the names of Lincoln or Reagan make one conservative.

The traditional definition of conservatism is the belief in the constitutional restraints established by the Founding Fathers. Governing with this political philosophy invariably translates into greater freedom, limited government, lower taxes and less regulation leading to increased entrepreneurism, free market economics, greater individual responsibility, and less governmental intrusion. And this list of conservative principles is far from exhaustive. To be sure, our founding fathers were horrified at the prospect of an out-of-control, over-reaching government.

Why were they horrified? Because they were living under a government out of control. This fact was the genesis of the American experiment in democracy, of which we are heirs.

I am so weary of hearing about the necessity of bi-partisanship, of compromise, of considering the middle ground. Rubbish. The very fact that this congress and prior congresses have compromised, cooperated and negotiated is the very thing that has brought us to the very brink of disaster.

Oh how I long for a Hamilton or a Burr; a Jefferson or an Adams to appear on the scene. Oh, for stalwarts who would stand and fight for conservative values. I believe that in the quietness of our hearts, if we were truthful with ourselves, most would agree that they too long for true constitutional statesmen; longing for someone who will not compromise or negotiate away their core conservative political principles for mere electoral advantage.

I believe that neither compromise nor negotiation was in the vocabulary of the majority of the men who gathered in Philadelphia to draft the timeless document we call our Constitution. Those four individuals listed above had opinions diametrically opposed to others about how certain aspects of the new republic should be shaped.

In fact, so opposite were their opinions that they were, in some cases, willing to defend their beliefs to the point of shedding their own blood. And I am not referring to that very real possibility of them all being summarily hanged for treason if the colonial rebellion had ended badly for the side of freedom and liberty.

These men were statesman- not mere politicians.
Dean Morford
Pemberville

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