Brian Mittge Commentary: Working With Folks Is Better Than Arguing With Them

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Boy, it’s been a rough year. 

Pandemic lockdowns, unemployment, sickness and death, skepticism decaying into wild-eyed conspiracies — and mixed in alongside everything is a big dollop of political acrimony. 

And so I was interested to read a great column on this editorial page a few days ago from a new face, Jonathan Haukaas. 

If you haven’t already, take a look at “When Did Belief Become More Valuable Than Behavior?”

He writes that social media rewards belief and words much more than actual public actions. 

It’s true, and it calls to mind a powerful corrective cure: volunteerism. 

When you work alongside someone, you have a bigger view of them than just their political beliefs. 

“Sure, Marv is a little out there on his politics, but when you need him, he shows up,” is a whole lot better for all of us (and more true) than a typical online response: “Marv is a garbage human being.”

Instead of arguing about how to fix the world online, what about getting together and getting started on the work that’s all around us?

I’ll be writing more about this in the weeks ahead, and I’d like your help. 

My dream is to connect everyone in Lewis County with an organization bigger than themselves in which they can share common cause with other people. 

It’s a powerful tonic for the ills of today. 

If you are part of an organization that could use some new blood, drop me a line by email (brianmittge@hotmail.com) or mail care of The Chronicle. Tell me what you do, why it matters, and what kind of help you need. 

We’re still in the midst of a pandemic lockdown, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s prepare now for a brighter, more cooperative and less cranky future — together.

 

Security & Precautions



Last week’s column about one of the Lewis County residents killed by COVID-19 brought forth a lot of poignant responses. 

A longtime family friend emailed me to say that his neighbor in Centralia had just died of the novel coronavirus. 

I also received a thoughtful letter from Kathy Spencer of Centralia, who brought a unique perspective as a devout Christian as well as a respiratory therapist of 41 years. 

In her email she first offered her condolences to the family and friends of Robb Lee, the Toledo man and church security team leader who died of COVID-19 last month at age 53. 

She noted that as a Christian of nearly 50 years, she looked for places to continue meeting safely in person with her fellow believers during the pandemic. When her church shut down she visited three other churches. 

I have Spencer’s permission to use her words to tell the story. 

“I found that the two churches I visited in Centralia acted as if there was no pandemic with no masking or distancing or meeting at 25% of capacity, which made me very uncomfortable knowing the danger that lurked. I was one of the only ones wearing a mask. So it wasn’t a surprise when I heard that a COVID-positive patient had been shipped to a higher level of care and didn’t make it, and that another from the same church was probably in the same boat. 

“I was so frustrated as I felt it to be inevitable at some point for many to get sick, yet highly preventable if indeed it was contracted at a church.”

“I truly hope that Pastors do their job in protecting their flocks from a known physical enemy in light of a life which may have been lost as a direct result of their unwillingness to enforce some simple guidelines to ensure safety while worshipping.

“I find it interesting that we now have security teams in churches in case we have an enemy show up at our doors, yet we let an unseen enemy in the door of our churches every week by not taking simple precautions.”

Wise words. 

Mask up everyone, and stay safe. God bless. 

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Brian Mittge lives in rural Chehalis and has been going to church remotely. Drop him a line at brianmittge@hotmail.com.