Vote your conscience

In the summer I enjoy just sitting in my yard — in the sun in the early morning, in the shade later, and if it gets too hot I can sit in my recliner in my well insulated, cool cabin and still look at my meadow, forest, and the mountains of Glacier.

If I want more there is the river — even if the fishing is lousy, and our ever increasing number of great neighbors. We have always been a diverse population and for many years it was mostly environmentalists versus rednecks and both designations were more general than specific.

I was usually described as a redneck and my friend John Frederick was the environmentalist. I like to think we were both instrumental, along with several others, in bringing the community together and putting together our current Land Use Plan, the Interlocal Meetings, and the current zoning regulations. We, and the community at large, recognized that we could disagree without being disagreeable. Even more important, we found that we basically agreed on more things than we disagreed on. Underlying was the fact that both sides loved the North Fork and from that common point we could compromise and actually get things done.

Today, land values are going through the roof, we have more and more neighbors and traffic on the North Fork Road is nasty. We are even more diverse than ever and I really enjoy discussions with people who have opinions contrary to my own. At the same time I recognize that with more people we are likely to attract a few bigots and a few arrogant folks who are always right and insult anyone who disagrees with them. My Econ professor called the natural distribution of SOB’s to be found everywhere.

Just this summer, I have been called a fool by one neighbor and a-hole by another because of my stated political view. I think that is over the top and unneighborly as well as un-Christian. Anyone who files for political office deserves our thanks for putting themselves on the line. That goes for either party. I am appalled by national politics, I hate the current political ads in Montana and wish that voters had not allowed us to fall into this cesspool.

Study the candidates, listen to what they say about themselves and what they will do if elected. Don’t believe nasty comments they make about their opponent—they all “spin” the facts.

Finally judge for yourself and vote your own opinion.

Larry Wilson’s North Fork Views appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.