Community at a time of War, Politics, and COVID

     "The public space in our little community is better than any social media."

Today's Guest Post is as earnest and warm as a Hallmark Christmas movie. 

Hallmark movies have a formula. 

Two people, obviously meant for each other, need to resolve whatever problem or misunderstanding keeps them apart. Their romance typically takes place in a small community full of friendly people with institutions and gathering spots that connect people, perhaps a bakery, a small hotel, or a community landmark. We see hugs, talk, smiling faces. Typically the movie ends with a finale gathering of community members in a sing-along or award ceremony of some kind. All the characters appear together, affirming one another. It takes a village. Villages take face-to-face proximity.

Doug Snider

Before COVID protocols were weaponized and made partisan, people of all political persuasions would have agreed that there would be a huge price to pay for social distancing, masks, and closed gathering places. Democrats and the COVID-conscientious frequently felt they needed to deny or minimize the costs of these protocols. They can stop doing so now. Those who want vaccinations are vaccinated. Masks and separation rules seem less relevant. States with Democratic governors are ending them. Red states already have. COVID precautions certainly saved lives--but they divided people and communities. Maybe it was worth it. I think it was. Some say it wasn't.

Doug Snider is a retired architect, now living in a community in the State of Washington I think picturesque enough as a setting for a Hallmark movie. People there are talking, sharing pleasantries, and doing what humans have done since the beginning of time. 

Guest Post by Doug Snider

I appreciated Jeff Golden’s Guest Post about engaging people with whom we disagree. Whether it’s for monetary gain or for a more nefarious purpose, social media and corporate media have done a good job of driving the political poles further apart and infusing the extremes with utter nonsense. Seeking common ground with someone whose political thinking includes Q-anon insanity seems perilous and purposeless. I believe, however, that there is hope for constructive discourse between those on both sides who don’t inhabit the outer fringes. Given the right setting, real conversations can be very conducive to mutual understanding.

When I lived in the Rogue Valley, my outspoken political views sometimes cost me friends and clients. I also gained some friendships which I treasure to this day. I left Medford six years ago and now live in a purple enclave on a very blue Indian reservation in a red agricultural county in the moderately blue state of Washington. Our lives are more directly impacted by the tribal senate than the board of county commissioners. Tribal jurisdiction often supersedes state governance. While not exactly a melting pot, our community has residents from all over the United States and many foreign countries.

Shelter Bay, Washington

It’s a wonderful community where I interact on a daily basis with people who proudly displayed their Trump signs and flags during the last election. We have many things in common to remind us that politics isn’t everything. Shocked as I was to see friends and acquaintances supporting a man I consider irredeemably evil, I can still work with them for the betterment of our small community. This has been a great place to ride out the pandemic because, through all the isolation, we have still been able to meet and exchange pleasantries while out walking or biking. Occasionally those exchanges include political discussions. They are always civil and sometimes surprising.

Sitting on a bench in our little park looking out over the Swinomish Channel one afternoon, my wife and I struck up a conversation with a woman we had never met. She was very willing to talk and we quickly learned that our new friend had fled Czechoslovakia in her teens to escape Soviet oppression. My wife assumed that having escaped Russian domination, this political refugee would not be at all sympathetic to a candidate who curried the favor of Vladimir Putin. Quite to the contrary, she explained that she had voted for Trump because Hilary had lied about Bill Clinton’s infidelity. We have since gotten to know her better and consider her a friend. I must ask her how this week’s events have impacted her.

Doug and Patti Snider

Another of our friends acquired from chance meetings on our daily outings is a delightful flight attendant, our age and now retired due to the pandemic. She is very religious and unashamed to speak about her beliefs. It was easy to assume that she would also be politically conservative. We were very cautious about venturing into anything political for fear of offending her with our liberal views. After the local paper published an op-ed piece I had written to counter a conservative friend’s letter to the editor praising Trump, she opened up to us about how much she detested the Republican candidate. She lamented that she and her daughter were now irreconcilably alienated because of their opposing views on Donald Trump.

To me, the public space in our little community is better than any social media. It reminds me of the way downtown Medford was when I was growing up. There is no substitute for meeting people face to face and getting to know the whole person and a little bit about what shapes their views.