Forum: Solving problems not always choice between ‘either, or’

Published 1:30 am Saturday, December 31, 2022

By Ron Frisen / Herald Forum

Several years ago my wife and I went on a Skagit River boat tour. The beauty of the water and the wild lands nestled on the shore, as well as the wild life, especially the eagles, are seared into my memory.

Also, never to be forgotten, was our tour guide’s answer to my question about why the fish population was in decline. He explained that there were two powerful lobby groups pointing fingers at each other. One group was of sports, tribal and commercial fishers. The other group was land developers.

The fishing group said the problem was entirely the fault of developers destroying habitat. If the habitat were restored, there would be more fish. The developers said it was due to “over fishing” and depleting the resource. If the fishermen would just not deplete the resource, there would not be a shortage of fish.

Our guide explained that both sides were so hardened in their position that neither could see that the other side may be right and have valid points. As a result of this conflict of interests, no meaningful progress was being made. And the result? More habitat destroyed. More overfishing. More fish population decline.

This argument is ongoing. But we are starting to see a shift toward habitat restoration as the revelation finally dawns on us that restoring habitat is the No. 1 issue, and that resource management, while important is No. 2. We are just starting to learn from past mistakes.

The hardest part in any of this is to finally realize what we have done, and the way we have done it for more than 100 years, does not work. We have made mistakes. We need to change what we are doing and how we are doing it. But that also means looking forward for our answers, not backward.

What has been most disturbing since that idyllic time on the river is to see this same type of unlistening, finger-pointing, self-righteous “I’m right and you are wrong” attitude permeate all levels of our culture now. And now, each side who disagrees has added the following indictment: “You are evil and out to destroy us, so we must destroy you first.”

We are being told that our choices are “either, or” instead of considering that we need to address both. It was not “habitat or overfishing.” It is both, in the right priority order.

Consider the following issues facing us today and think about each side of the issue: gun violence, climate change, homelessness, drug abuse, disintegrating families, failing schools, ineffective law enforcement, faltering economy, pandemic response, disintegrating health care system, and any others you can think of.

Do you know both sides of these issues? Trick question! If you do, you can be part of the solution. If not, you are part of the problem. But maybe there is hope that you might be willing to consider someone else’s point of view, if you are open to that?

But here is our biggest problem, right now. Those who are best able to discern are silent and want to avoid any discomfort or disagreement. We need discerning minds and voices to critically look at where we are and where we are going.

Much, but not all, of what is in our past can be a solid foundation for our future. Only looking backward for solutions also becomes an argument of “How far back shall we go?” Before gender rights? Before abortion rights? Before Civil Rights? Before Medicare? Before Temperance, women’s right to vote, or slavery?

We must reckon with our mistakes. We must be better! Looking backward is only useful as an “a-ha” moment that tells us, “That did not work. We need to do differently and better.”

This is an art, not a science. I love the quote attributed to Scott Adams I recently saw in the Roche Harbor Sculpture Park: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing what to keep.”

Can we figure out what to keep, or must we scrap it all and start over? Oh, wait! That is what this democratic-republic of ours has always been good for, unless we mess it up!

In our country, our state, and in our local community we are known for our creativity, ingenuity, and innovation. But we have made many mistakes along the way.

The challenge for our best future is to “keep the best, and fix the rest.” We can do this if the voices, now silent, become heard over the cacophony of noisy voices that would either take us backward to all our mistakes, or simply destroy everything because we are unable to “fix the

rest.”

The silent voices in the middle must speak up or be overrun by the loudest voices which herald either mistakes or destruction. The silent voices are our future. Will our best future kindly step up to the open mic and speak?

Ron Friesen is a longtime Marysville resident, a retired music teacher and community and church musician and is committed to community improvement.

Herald Forum

The Herald Forum invites community members to submit essays on topics of importance and interest to them. Essays typically are between 400 and 600 words in length, although exceptions for longer pieces can be made. To submit essays or for more information about the Herald Forum, write Herald Opinion editor Jon Bauer at jbauer@heraldnet.com or call him at 425-339-3466.