Why do we have so much acrimony in the Flathead?  Here we are, living in one of the most desirable places on the planet, and we are constantly confronted with various ideas that have the potential to depredate some of the very features of our valley for which most of us choose to live here.  

Over the last few years we have become aware of any number of groups moving into the area who espouse ideologies which do not represent the normal beliefs of the majority of the Flathead Valley citizenry. Project 7, Oath Keepers, Aryan Nations, white supremacists, “Patriot” movement leaders, a Neo-Nazi group from Atlanta, and even Philip Klevmoen, the Ten Commandments Park owner recently featured in the Inter Lake, are examples that come to mind.

One has to wonder if these groups may be reading the repetitious, anti-government/anti-President-Obama rhetoric that so often appears in the “Editor’s 2 Cents” column on Sundays, and mistakenly think that they should set up shop in the Flathead. Perhaps these continuous rantings have consequences.

There are more clear-thinking, hard-working, value-vested, and truly “patriotic” individuals in our valley than many people think, and if we are ever going to sustain any semblance of civil sanity, we are going to have to stop being reluctant to discuss those things that really make a difference. We need to turn out in record-breaking numbers, and vote for the candidates who truly care about doing what is best for Montanans, and not for those candidates who are only interested in serving the interests of wealthy corporate CEOs. —Edd Blackler, Bigfork