An inspiring read
Kudos to the Happy Day Company and Elaine Williams for the recent article (Tribune, Feb. 23) informing how Happy Day Restaurants utilize locally produced food for their restaurants.
This is just the kind of reporting I enjoy in a local paper. Living in a region surrounded by agriculture combined with forward-thinking, problem solvers make for an inspiring read. Please continue to share stories like these.
Christi Severance
Clarkston
When mercy offends
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Jesus’ words are central to Christian faith, yet mercy often provokes outrage.
At the National Cathedral’s inaugural prayer service, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde urged President Donald Trump to “have mercy” on those living in fear — LGBTQ+ children, undocumented immigrants, the vulnerable. It was a plea, not an attack.
Trump responded with fury, calling Budde a “radical left hardliner” who had disgraced her church. A congressman even suggested she should be deported.
Why does a call for mercy offend?
In the ancient world, mercy was often seen as weakness. Today, it remains controversial. We welcome mercy when it is extended to us, but when given to those we oppose, it feels unfair.
I confess, I’ve felt this tension. When I saw Jan. 6 insurrectionists released early from prison, I was angry. It seemed unjust. But then I realized: Mercy for others often upsets us. Mercy for ourselves is always welcome.
Jesus did not call for convenient mercy. He called for mercy that disrupts, challenges and heals. That kind of mercy is never easy, but it is the only kind that changes the world.
Blessed are the merciful. May we learn to be among them.
The Rev. Duane A. Anders
Boise
Against SJR 101
In a world where it feels the most powerful and vocal dominate the political and economic landscape, the citizen initiative arena provides a hopeful space for the under-represented and the will of the people. The direct democracy process has been an Idaho tradition since 1912.
The initiative process demands significant grassroots effort. To get a measure on the ballot, proponents must collect signatures from 6% of the state’s registered voters based on the latest general election. In addition, Idaho requires these signatures be spread across the state, with at least 6% coming from 18 of the 35 legislative districts, ensuring broad support.
However, that bar may soon get even higher. Senate Joint Resolution 101 ... aims to impose a new rule: requiring signatures from all 35 legislative districts, not just 18. This proposal would make it even harder for grassroots movements to succeed in Idaho, tightening the grip on direct democracy. In fact, a similar measure was struck down by the Idaho Supreme Court in 2021 ... . Yet, here we are again, being asked to support a measure that threatens to erode our fundamental rights as voters.
Idaho has long prided itself on its independent spirit and commitment to giving its citizens a voice. But that spirit is now under threat. If we want to keep participatory democracy and freedom of ideas alive in Idaho, we must stand up and protect it. Let’s not allow our rights to be stripped away by a few who seek to consolidate power.
Tasha Blazzard Hussman
Boise
Those so-called men
I am reminded of the scene from the movie “Gandhi,” when New York Times reporter Vince Walker spoke over the phone from India in May 1930 after he witnessed the beating of peaceful Indian protestors in their Salt March against British domination:
“Whatever moral ascendance the West held was lost today. India is free for she has taken all that steel and cruelty can give, and she has neither cringed nor retreated.”
In a scheduled conference the morning of Feb. 28 ..., the Donald Trump-JD Vance tag-team berated, belittled and demeaned President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But Zelenskyy stood up to the bullies in a righteous defense of his invaded country. He didn’t allow for the lies to stand against his people as the United States turned its back on an ally in desperate need ... .
With the threat of almost certain defeat for Ukraine if he didn’t kowtow to Trump/Vance, Zelenskyy demonstrated more courage that morning than all the Republican U.S. senators and legislators combined. He stood up to the American cowards and showed the entire world what small creatures they are.
A more precise paraphrase for the Feb. 28 scene perhaps should read like this: “The moral leadership that the United States established in the trenches of WWI in 1917 and ‘18 and reaffirmed on the storied beaches of Normandy in June 1944 and has held for over a century was lost today.”
God have mercy on us for electing such pitiable, so-called men to be our leaders.
D’Wayne Hodgin
Moscow
