From the publisher: How I stay calm in the chaos

We don’t cover news outside of Portage County. That’s a business decision as much as an ideological commitment to focusing on the local. 

When you focus on the local, it helps to keep the ugly, divisive rhetoric of national politics away from township- and county-level challenges. As I always say, you don’t need to form a political party to fix a pothole. Or debate a school levy. Or fund the fire department.

Here in Portage County (and probably every county), we’re better off if we pay more attention to the goals and values we share than the big cultural flashpoints we may disagree about.

For example, I vote differently on the presidential ballot than some of our county leaders, but I’ve shared productive conversations with them and believe in most of the same values: good schools, local jobs, and feeding our neighbors.

I mention all of this because there are some people at a high level in the community who are trying to bring the ugly polarization out there… in here. 

Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski on his official Facebook page posted about the conflict in Minneapolis with a variety of falsehoods or exaggerations, wildly punctuated with exclamation points and capital letters. He used vulgar terms that I would not want to explain to my children. (I could imagine them asking, “Why is the sheriff talking like this? Aren’t police officers nice?” And I would not know how to respond.)

So even though I don’t want to, I’ve decided to push back, gently and without getting into the finer points of the argument. I don’t want to have a discussion in The Portager about whether ICE is doing a good job or whether the protesters should stay home. 

Instead, I’m going to clarify what I believe to be a set of values that all Portagers should be able to agree on. They’re really simple and apply to everybody who lives here.

• People should feel free. America is a great country because people have freedoms protected by legal guarantees. As long as you don’t infringe on the rights of others, you can speak your mind, start a business, raise your kids however you want and travel anywhere.

• Kids should feel safe. Period. In their schools and in their homes, whether they’re immigrants or not, children should wake up knowing they’re going to get tucked in by their parents at the end of the day.

• Workers should be respected. We should have good jobs in Portage County that pay well and keep us healthy and comfortable enough to relax and enjoy ourselves every evening and weekend.

• Our elders should be respected. Those who’ve earned a retirement should be able to enjoy it. They should have enough to eat and be able to get around. They should have access to good healthcare and an active social life.

• Local officials should lead with dignity. Holding elected office — whether you’re on a township zoning board or the county’s top law enforcement officer — is a serious responsibility. You must endeavor to represent all your constituents and preserve the dignity of the office with your language and actions.

• We should see each other as neighbors. Everybody knows what it means to be a good neighbor. It doesn’t mean you have to be friends or invite each other over for dinner, though of course you could. It just means you have to respect and enable each other’s mutual desire to peacefully enjoy life.

In the national political chaos, there’s an element of decency that’s missing. I’m here to say that in Portage County it is not missing. And we will not miss it. We won’t allow vulgarity and violence and all-caps ranting into our community. 

I stay calm in the chaos because I know Portager readers are holding the line, staying local and working to build up Portage County rather than bring others down.