Opinion

Excuse me, your opinion is showing (and it’s not pretty)

Since sometime in the 1950s, when wearing T-shirts as something other than underclothes became socially acceptable, we’ve been paying to turn our bodies into walking billboards, broadcasting our favorite brands, bands, vacation spots and political opinions. I remember a high school classmate being told to turn his T-shirt inside out because its message offended a teacher.

I’m not a fan of censorship, by any means, but I think we need to remember that what we emblazon across our chests may be saying more about us than we want. Take, for example, the shirt Walmart was selling that read, “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some Assembly Required.” Wearing a shirt like that says something not very complimentary about the kind of human being you are.
This weekend I was taken aback by a picture of two aging baby boomers at a political rally wearing matching T-shirts stating, “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat.”
Seriously? Wasn’t anyone else paying attention during “Red Dawn” and the James Bond movies? Doesn’t anyone remember the Cold War? Last time I checked Russia still wasn’t our pal, to say nothing of the thousands of American lives lost in the fight against Communism.
These two gentlemen have expressed their desire to give up their citizenship rather than cooperate with an opposing political party in our own nation. Is this where we’re going?
I bet those guys are grandpas. They probably worked hard for decades to provide for their families. And they probably just think their matching shirts are funny, just like my teenage sons think their crude heavy metal T-shirts are “cool.”
Thanks to our Constitution, we are (still) free to have dissenting opinions. We’re (still) free to speak out against the government. We’re (still) free to grumble and spout rhetoric to our heart’s content. It’s an integral part of our national heritage and it must be protected.
However, choosing to be red or blue is not supposed to be our identifying factor. Our unity as Americans is supposed to bind us together for the greater good, regardless of partisanship, race, creed, religion, gender or any other identifying characteristic.
Have we forgotten we’re all standing on common ground? Have we forgotten the “one nation, indivisible” part of the pledge?
We can argue, we can debate, we can agree to disagree. We can even act like toddlers and screech “snowflake” at each other on social media. What we can’t do is allow ourselves to be divided. One of history’s most controversial figures of all time said, “a house divided against itself shall not stand.”
This year’s wildfire season should serve as a reminder that we’re all on common ground. No one is immune to the dangers of wildfire, but when everyone works together, lives and property can be saved. If my neighbor’s house catches fire, I want to do everything in my power to help put that fire out. I genuinely like my neighbors, but even if I didn’t I would feel the same way. Why? Because we’re literally on common ground.
I think we’ve forgotten that concept of common ground and allowed this “sports team” concept of political identity to override who we are as Americans, even as human beings.
It’s still a free country. Wear your belligerent T-shirt. Fortunately we’re NOT in Russia, where wearing a T-shirt like that might land a person in the modern equivalent of the gulag system.
Are we so desperate to make a statement and be part of a group that we’re willing to be rude, cruel and ugly to one another in person, or passive-aggressively on a T-shirt? When teenagers do it, we write it off as “peer pressure” and immaturity. How do we excuse it when adults are doing it?

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It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line.  The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale.
Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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Cowboy Carson Klinzmann on the mound for Meeker at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction last Saturday. Meeker took on the 4A Rifle Bears, losing 11-1, and the Basalt Longhorns, losing 7-3. Read the recap online at ht1885.com.
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