A word about the governors race from someone who’s never belonged to a political party and never will.

The thing I hate about politics the most? It’s always for party A or party B, or “other.” It’s never about the state as a whole or the people as a whole. It’s about this side or that side.

Why can’t we all meet in the middle for a change? Why do you have to drag your political parties around like some Linus blanket? Make an individual decision. But educate yourself first. Educate yourself outside the influence of your chosen party. Try to see both sides. Leave your emotions at the door as you do this. Because party A and party B are designed to stir your emotions so you can’t think straight. Or independently. …

Democracy is a wonderful system. But it has some notable exploits.

The first is you’re supposed to be a well-informed citizen before you vote. The problem here is many of you are programmed rather than informed. And then you vote. This is by design of course. Which brings up the second exploit. When you control the flow of information that people are using to make their voting decisions with, you can get any result you want. Hence the scramble for mass media.

The current political climate in this country is nationalistic and toxic. The US has quite a few enemies around the world. Many of them earned from what we did to them in years past. They watch us with glee as we are divided as a nation. Know what comes after dividing? …

The next Oregon governor needs to be a centrist. Someone who walks down the middle of the road. You’re not going to find that very easy with the current crop of candidates.

So just stop for a minute. Think for yourself. Especially when you walk into that voting booth. …

Dan Collins

Baker City