Bertollini's return reminds us of democracy's meaning

This letter is inspired by the June 30, 2006, article regarding the case of Vincent Bertollini (11th Hour leader).

After I bought my home in Sandpoint, I started contributing to almost all of the community programs. People would ask, "How can someone who is such an advocate of liberty, equality and representative democracy, buy and contribute to a right wing hate community?" I strongly defended my decision to move here. That image was not North Idaho. Yes, we had the 11th Hour and the Aryans but these groups were very small and few identified with them.

I pointed out that "hate votes" were in other states but could never happen in Idaho. I wrote letters to the editor expressing this view. We erected a monument in our courtyard dedicated to human rights and, at the ceremony, elected officials were there to say treating all people with dignity was a slogan of North Idaho.

The 11th Hour established in north Idaho because they saw this as a right wing community receptive to them. It did not turn out that way. They made people conscious of the evils of right-wing thinking. When these groups left, I felt it was a positive for our community but again, it did not turn out that way.

The right wing was now more comfortable to push their ideas. We saw in the last election, a vote for one-party control. We saw slander campaigns generated out of Boise designed to control politics in North Idaho. We saw prominent people advocate "vote the team," which meant do away with balance of power democracy and disenfranchising people like me.

We are not going to have a hate vote on our ballot in November. Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday dedicated to honoring the civil rights movement. When was the last time we saw an elected state representative at a local ceremony?

Human rights are not right wing values. Right wing priorities are well expressed in the cartoon opinion page in the Bee on July 2. The picture says it better than I can write it. Welcome back, Bertollini. We need you to remind us what democracy is all about.

HARVEY PINE

Sandpoint