Does freedom live in Bonner County anymore?

In East Coast cities, where I lived until I was 42, there was plenty of opportunity, but I couldn't afford to be who I wanted to be – nor did the people around me want me to be who I was. I came here 27 years ago, because I could be myself. Freedom lives here.

I found people who wanted the same things I did: good food and music, family and friends, the mountain, the lake, and plentiful beer. Even if they didn't want beer or were at odds with my other choices, by far they wanted the same Freedom I did. We shared the mountain and the lake. We shopped locally. We paid our taxes and shared the roads and the garbage dumps. We voted for different candidates. We went to the movies together at the Panida and to plays and sports events at the schools. We took care of each other when there was an emergency flat tire or medical bills, and beyond that, we left each other alone, because no one can be free unless everyone is. People here by far believe in that American dream above all others.

Soon, I fear I will be forced to be sick, unemployed, policed, mocked, and on fire. My children and grandchildren face the same dismal future. Everybody loses. If we don't all hang together now, surely we will soon all hang separately. (Benjamin Franklin.)

How do we best take care of each other, hang together, and defend our freedom?

Vote.


NANCY GERTH

Sagle