ELECTION: Opportunity lost

History is our greatest teacher and reveals patterns and truths about where we have come from and where we are headed.

Our old-fashioned values of freedom, liberty and justice are what unites us as Idahoans. Our love for our faith, family and our fellow neighbors are what make our particular community such a remarkable place to live, work and raise our families to do the same.

The Idaho Freedom Foundation and their sympathizers would have you believe that they are your fellow neighbors, all while making plans to strip our children of their essential educational tools and resources, dismantle responsible policies, and dictate which freedoms and restrictions they ‘feel’ you should have. Through fear mongering, hate speech, and frankly, clear violations of private property (i.e. mysterious “RINO” signs littered through town), they attempt to divide us. However, they are only successful when we are complacent on a whole.

In the latest election, the future culture of Kootenai County was up for grabs. Our community was challenged to rally together, yet again, and say, “No, not in our town!” Yet, only the loudest voices were heard when roughly 15% of the population showed up to the polls on Tuesday to vote.

Qualified candidates were forced out of the jobs they excelled in and the few representatives that remain are further challenged to work harder to protect our policies and resources from extremism. Only time will tell the impact of the decisions we allowed and reveal the future culture of our community.

LINDSEY CASPER

Coeur d’Alene