Signs of respect needed

After reading last week’s letter submitted by the Bjorklund’s I experienced a few emotions. It is safe to say that any letter in the opinion section which stirs up any kind of feeling is achieving its goal. The emotions I felt were anger, frustration, and a feeling of not being surprised.

I am angry anytime somebody takes something that isn’t theirs. That is theft and is illegal. Freedom of speech is arguably the most important of the five rights given in the 1st Amendment of our Constitution. Any attempt to suppress this right is wrong, no matter which political party you are aligned with. Seeing campaign signs around town is an outstanding example of how great this country is. Just remember when it comes to free speech, it must include ALL speech, otherwise it is not free speech. I do sympathize greatly with the Bjorklund’s having their signs stolen. This is because somebody stole the Trump sign out of my front yard a few weeks ago.

I imagine we felt the same sense of frustration. Even though we support different candidates, similar offenses happened to both of us. Although there is a good chance that whoever stole these signs was not a supporter of that candidate or party, we cannot solely accuse one party. These crimes are being committed by people on both sides of the aisle. The Bjorklund’s mentioned that their neighborhood has a covenant prohibiting the display of yard signs. I urge them to research Washington State RCW 64.38.034. This overrules any governing document restriction with regards to political signs. Governing documents may include restrictions regarding the number and size of political signs and how long they are displayed; however, I don’t think they can prohibit you from displaying a political sign in your yard.  

As disheartening as some of this is, I am not surprised. There is an abundance of fiery emotions across the country right now. Some of it is justified, and a lot isn’t. I won’t get into that; I’ll save it for another letter. What this all comes down to is respect. At the risk of sounding preachy, I will say that we must respect each other’s rights and be civil to one another. If you don’t like what is printed on a sign, don’t look at it. If you don’t like the signs or the flag in my yard, don’t look at them. You can say anything you want about somebody’s signs or campaign material, just be ready to hear the other side if you engage them in a conversation. Hopefully that conversation will be based on facts and not raw emotion. The funny thing is, that when it comes down to it, most people don’t care about what my opinion is, or what your opinion is. It is indeed an awesome thing that we can express these opinions in mediums like this newspaper. What a great country we live in!

Chip Cathcart

Coulee Dam, WA