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Saying Goodbye

To What Is So

Things became clear at his memorial.
Life-giving questions returned and we
were all blessed by this gift.
Absent our assumed distractions
and generations of repeated lines,
we can begin to feel, feel what
we are feeling, open a source
of blessing and grace. Coming down
to what is so, down with the power
of what is given, we can take
the uncommon step, seeing things
just as they are, allow the heart
to break, learn how to weep
in the remaining light. Witness
to the pain and cries of this world,
how can we live in communion
with what nourishes and honors life
and how are we to sustain this awake
relation to what is always arriving
in awareness? As we apprehend
how everything passes into silence,
how it is never clear when and if
we will ever meet again, life-giving
questions can return: How much love
do we wish to offer; How much love
are we able to receive? Together,
let us lay our burdens down.

We also extend our gratitude to everyone who helped the day run smoothly: those who kept a watchful eye on the crowd, assisted people in staying behind the barriers, Mr. Eagle Eye, volunteers helping with safe highway and street crossings, musicians and drummers, providers of muffins and fudge, and all who joined the downtown march. It truly felt like a festival of wonderful people.

To provide some context for recent protest participation numbers: according to the Invisible Team, April’s Hands Off Day saw an estimated 3 million participants nationwide, June’s No Kings Day had about 5 million participants across the country, and October’s No Kings Day reached approximately 7 million participants nationally. All these events, including ours, were committed to non-violence and remained peaceful demonstrations.

As we celebrate our community’s engagement, we remain focused on key priorities: protecting health care, ending the shutdown, and ensuring families have enough to eat.

In addition to organizing peaceful demonstrations, North County Resistance is committed to supporting local organizations that strengthen our community. We aim to partner with established groups, including the North County Food Bank in Wheeler, Nehalem Bay Community Services in Nehalem, the Rockaway Beach Lions Club, and Meals for Seniors in Rockaway Beach. Here’s how these organizations make a difference—and how you can help:

Meals for Seniors, Inc. — Rockaway Beach: For over 20 years, their mission has been to help senior citizens of North Tillamook County remain independent by providing nutritious meals and social opportunities. Meals are served and delivered from the dining hall at St. Mary’s by the Sea Church on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Meals for Seniors is a federally designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID#90-0097197), serving over 12,000 meals per year. To support Meals for Seniors, please consider donating or volunteering—contact them at 503-317-8967 or send donations to PO Box 852, Rockaway Beach, Oregon 97136.

Rockaway Beach Lions Club: This group provides food baskets for families and seniors at Thanksgiving and Christmas. To contribute or get involved, reach out to Rockaway Beach Lions, PO Box 611, Rockaway Beach, Oregon 97136.

North County Food Bank — Wheeler: Currently operating at the former Rinehart Clinic site on the hill, the Food Bank is moving to a new location and recently closed its clothing bank. They especially need food donations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please call 503-368-7724 to learn about current needs or mail donations to NCFB, PO Box 162, Wheeler, Oregon 97141. Food and cash/check donations are gratefully accepted.

Nehalem Bay Community Services (NBCS): Formerly under the Nehalem Bay United Methodist Church, NBCS now operates independently as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID#93-4296849). They run the CHILD Program (providing clothing at the start of the school year and gifts at Christmas), Senior Lunches (served or delivered on Tuesday and Thursday), a food pantry, and a clothing bank. NBCS is open Monday, Friday, and Saturday. To support NBCS, send donations to NC, PO Box 232, Nehalem, Oregon 97131, and please note which project you wish to support.

Additionally, it is expected that Nehalem Grade School will collect food donations for children during school breaks at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I will investigate this further and provide updates as available.

Thank you for helping to care for our community. Your support makes a real difference.

Best,

Patty

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/20/no-kings-protests-democrats-trump-politics

Brooks says politicians use dark passions to motivate voters. He delves into dark passions and how they take hold. He laments the loss of morality and sees an era of mass ignorance as we are fed an endless stream of entertainment he calls spiritual nutrients. I would call it something else. Most people I encounter don’t seem to have a lack of morality or intelligence. The flood of entertainment vying for our attention on the other hand… but then it’s just entertainment, we can choose to turn it off. Spirituality and intelligence come from somewhere else.

In the conclusion of David Brooks’ column there are 3 paragraphs that, for me, summed it all up:

“So to return to my original question: Why does politics feel so different now than in times past? My short answer is that over these years, demagogues in politics, in the media and online have exploited common feelings of humiliation to arouse dark passions, and those dark passions are dehumanizing our culture and undermining liberal democracy.”

Brooks defines humiliation as a result of being denied expected rights. He goes on to say people humiliated can lash out. Trump certainly exploited that at his rallies. Bernie Sanders too, but doesn’t get as much traction with his promotion of free everything. As an aside, Brooks wonders if history would have been different had Obama not humiliated Trump at the correspondent’s dinner on 30 Apr, 2011. Brooks conveniently omits Trump’s frequent attacks on Obama’s birth, religion, and election legitimacy prior to that dinner.

Brooks continues, “I often hear Democrats say their party needs to fight harder. These are people who don’t really believe in democracy. Fighting is for fascists. Democracy is about persuasion. Democrats would do well to get out of their urban and academic bubbles and understand the people they need to persuade and then persuade harder.”

At his many rallies, Trump (seeking adoration) refined his messaging for the base, building on what he previously learned from right wing media. The people think he really cares about them. It translated to tremendous voter support. Many only vote when Trump is on the ballot. Liberals feel ignored, as Brooks implies. Voters are quietly changing affiliation to Independent, while Bernie Sanders is the one connecting with the electorate. So the Democratic Party needs to figure it out, not just find a charismatic leader – I think we need more politicians who speak clearly and can explain complex matters. Their electorate must begin to feel like the party is really paying attention to average folks who are not the proverbial squeaky wheels or special interests.

I think the real nugget in Brooks’ column is this: “I’d add only that in order to repress dark passions and arouse the good ones, leaders need to create conditions in which people can experience social mobility. As philosophers have long understood, the antidote to fear is not courage; it’s hope. If people feel their lives and their society are stagnant, they will fight like scorpions in a jar. But if they feel that they personally are progressing toward something better, that their society is progressing toward something better, they will have an expanded sense of agency, their motivations will be oriented toward seizing some wonderful opportunity, and those are nice motivations to have.”

Persistent wealth disparity, and now unregulated big tech, have for too long trampled rights while duping us with counterfeit hope. Yet, adding to our frustration, nobody seems to know what to do about it. Those with money and power think they can soon get by without us by automating everything. What are they smoking?

Just the other day I found an idea in another article. Maybe it’s simplistic but in my experience uplifting and powerful. With some exceptions of course, those controlling our country and society are acting in bad faith and exhibiting very poor character. Rather than responding in kind or taking the bait, we can change what we consume, and modify how we behave to act with good character. By noticing and commending better character in others the movement can spread.

ICE protests in Portland are a good example. It’s brilliant to wear non-threatening costumes and deny the administration any sort of war zone appearance, which they so desperately need to support their bad faith narrative. Opportunities to apply this kind of strategy are in everything we do. We just need to be kind and considerate. We don’t have to participate in or contribute to whatever is harmful. From the bottom up, we can model a better way. Many do already, and those who’ve been angered by dark passions and dreadful news can try exercising their good character. Benefits will begin immediately.

This is not any revelation. It’s something we’ve been taught all along in many different ways. “Helping others is what makes us happy” (from the movie Last Christmas).

– Dave