Dear Nancy Pelosi

First, congratulations to you and the Democrat Party on the gains made in the recent election. But the purpose of this letter is to convey the sincere hope that you will not let this shot at achieving true greatness and exhibiting statesmanship in the mold of the great people who’ve preceded you elude you yet again. Very few people are afforded the opportunity to affect real, long lasting and meaningful change.

You now may have been given a second such chance at realizing such an achievement.

Please, for all that is patriotic, do not squander it. Ponder not what you can do for party or to opponents. Rather contemplate what you and your party can do for our country. In comparison, your sacrifice will be paltry next to those made by so many others, yet the rewards are beyond measure. Ten years ago I watched as you actively sabotaged any hope of meaningful leadership, going “tribal” to disparage those with whom you disagreed, even to the extent of doing so retroactively.

When the only option seemed to be upward you opted for a less challenging approach that only served to block progress and alienate fellow countrymen. Further, you failed your due diligence, marching in lock-step with your party’s elected head of state. You are wiser now. Let it show.

Ross Flavel

Bend

Stopping bullying

Thank you for the articles on middle school bullying. I’m grateful that our schools work to cultivate a culture of kindness and that educators help students develop empathy, an essential skill for all people.

We each just want to be accepted as we are and feel we fit in.

Research shows that a sense of belonging is an essential contributor to positive mental health (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26168025). That only 69 percent of the Oregon eighth-graders surveyed said they had not been bullied in the last 30 days, is cause for concern.

Bullying affects not only those who have been bullied, but also those who demonstrated the bullying behaviors, and those who were bystanders to those behaviors. Bullying hurts the entire school because it significantly diminishes everyone’s sense of safety and comfort. Rather than acknowledging and appreciating our diversity, bullying insidiously feeds a “power over” hierarchical community and intimidates kids to conform out of fear.

When working with someone who bullies we need to acknowledge the personal circumstances, systems and cultural values that may influence someone to assert power over and harass another individual. We all contribute to an environment where bullying can occur when we do not publicly and immediately denounce harassment and intimidation.

To decrease bullying we need to examine and change our national values about power, and we need to embrace diversity and nonconformity. It is essential that our leaders, including the president, model respect and civility, and that we all denounce words and actions that put others down.

Lura Reed

Bend

Helt should step down

In a school district that has, shamefully, one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the U.S. and a very high absenteeism rate, a part-time school board member is a disservice to the parents and students and overall community of Bend-La Pine.

Cheri Helt may think that balancing Salem, Bend, a family and two restaurants is no big deal, but that is self-delusional. It is more of a “I want it all” attitude. Helt needs to step down from the board and give someone else a fresh input into school affairs.

Richard Asadoorian

Sunriver

Battling intolerance

Kudos to Dennis Pagni’s letter of Nov. 10 for his timely response to the speaker who labeled people on “the left” as intolerant. His summary spoke so well to the need for all to be “intolerant” of the injustices and bigotry we face in today’s world. This Veterans Day was — or should have been — a reminder of why our forefathers crafted the Constitution as they did and why so many lost their lives to protect the freedoms and rights it provides.

And why we must actively continue their fight against the abuses and prejudices that threaten the very principles that have kept our nation great since its inception.

Marianne Perlot

Redmond