Don't cut the lilacs
Flathead County recently cut back part of the lilac hedge that has blossomed along Grand Drive for so many decades. This was done to facilitate the installation of the new light at the crosswalk to the school. Now it has come to my attention that they plan to do a lot more cutting. Apparently a visitor to Bigfork lodged a complaint, saying that the lilacs were obstructing her passage down the sidewalk, forcing her to walk in the street. In response, the county plans to come and cut the whole hedge in the same manner that they cut the first patch. What a huge response to a single voice!
Also, the county apparently doesn’t do necessary pruning in a careful manner, accounting for aesthetic factors or the health of the pruned plants. When they were done with their initial section of the lilacs, ugly shattered stumps remained. Is this how we want the entrance to the village of Bigfork to look because of the complaint of one visitor? Bigfork residents have for decades walked two abreast down the sidewalk next to the old lilac hedge without being forced into the street, and many have been inspired enough by the beauty to take a sprig or two of fragrant lilacs home with them. It seems inappropriate that one person’s complaint would be enough to cause the county to ruin the hedge that has for so long been a beautiful and cherished feature along Grand Drive.
Lia Payne
One Language - Oh No!
Please don’t be so shallow! America is great but don’t lock yourself out of the rest of the world.
Yes, I’m a Vietnam vet, and I love this country, but education is more important than hatred of foreigners.
Xenophobic tendencies due to immigration concerns, fears of terrorism, etc., have alarmed the general populace more than usual, and it is hurting us.
I get this kinda stuff on the Internet: “I can’t get hired for a job because they need bi-lingual speakers, but I’m an American and I think I’m being mistreated.” That seems benign at first glance; however, it is becoming the common whine. It seems that we as Americans are beginning to reap our fields of self-inflicted isolationist woe.
Who let it happen? Our ancestors, first, and now you, your parents, your teachers and your friends ignore that history and prefer English only when the rest of the world speaks three or four languages regardless what country they inhabit. What happened to the attitude the Statue of Liberty suggests? Send me those diverse folks and as a common nation with diverse ideas our new nation will be stronger?
When is the last time these geo-centric mono-lingual whiners had a grasp of the global picture? When did he or she last realize that their isolationist attitude and forced linguistic ignorance condemns their comprehension of wordly issues?
As citizens of the most powerful nation on the planet, have we aspired to such a level of arrogance that we may ignore foreign culture and language, but have we shielded our children from reality?
Education concerning foreign language, culture, alternative social structures and political theory is severely lacking in this country’s present educational system.
English is not sacred and is not our sole form of communication. This country’s strength and internal unity depends on a wider view.
This is not an appropriate time for paranoia or xenophobia. We may act locally, but we must have the ability to think globally, or we will have others making the decisions for us.
I have offered - for five years - to teach French in a classroom run by a friend of mine; however, since I don’t have a teaching degree, they’re not interested. I don’t want money, I just want to teach kids something that they lack. Please value the concern expressed in this article. Change your attitude towards language, and have fun learning a language with your kids.
Martin Armstrong
Bigfork