Sarah Nigbor

I struggled to know what to write about this week. As a newspaper editor, I need to remain impartial in my reporting in regard to politics and events going on in the world around us. I’ve tried to keep this column, which is about my opinions and observations, free of politics. I strive to keep it on the light-hearted side, focusing on the silly or relatable things that happen in my life. Sometimes the subject matter strays into heavier territory, because sometimes life is heavy. It’s important to me to keep the column relatable to all people, conservative or liberal, free of politics and focused more on the things we all have in common as human beings.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel deeply about the things going on in our world today.

When reporting on the many issues that affect Pierce County residents, I try my best to report the facts: Who, what, where, when, why and how, leaving my opinions out of it. I try my best to report both sides. For example, we try to report both sides of the CAFO debates that grip our county. It’s not our job to decide who is right or wrong, but to report the facts so readers can make those informed decisions for themselves. That’s one reason why cable news outlets drive me bananas. I think they put too much opinion into reporting news.

A reader recently asked me why there have been so few letters to the editor. She asked if I pick and choose which ones to publish. I do not. I publish every letter sent to me. I’m supposed to stick to a 350-word limit, but I’ll admit, I’m lenient with that unless the letter is insanely long. I wish more people would write letters to the editor. People should feel free to express their opinions in a civilized way. I think a lot of people are afraid to for fear of repercussions from their neighbors or employers. Whether you agree with it or not, an Ellsworth teacher was fired for writing her opinion on her private social media page. I believe others are afraid the same could happen to them. Hence, fewer letters.

I have an aunt, my dad’s sister, who disowned me over politics. Because I don’t share her opinions, she stopped speaking to me. At least I think that’s why, because it couldn’t be anything else unless she just went off the deep end. Without explanation, without any type of goodbye. We had never discussed politics, not even once. My cousin told me she saw that I liked a post on Facebook several years ago (which was about the inauguration, not even about the political party itself) and wrote me off. I haven’t spoken to her in years and Christmas cards have gone unacknowledged. My father-in-law, when he was alive, did the same. It has been extremely hurtful. Even though we have differing political beliefs, I still love my aunt. She is my family but she doesn’t feel the same way.

I don’t think it’s normal or healthy to write your own family members and friends off because they believe differently than you. Every American has the right to decide how they believe. Instead of agreeing to disagree, families are being torn apart, people are ostracizing one another, confirmation bias is running rampant, and it seems no one is listening to the other side with even an ounce of trying to understand where people are coming from. What are we becoming?

It shouldn’t matter what color your skin is, how much money you make, where you came from, what religion you are. People are people and we should all be kind to one another. And that is becoming far and far less common.

Hope is not lost, however. Our communities still come together for common purposes, whether it’s to cheer UW-River Falls on at the Stagg Bowl, to grieve the loss of a mother in a car accident, to help someone battling cancer, to join a vigil to mourn the life of someone lost to senseless violence, to celebrate a new pie shop in town. Remember those moments the next time you want to write someone off for their beliefs. How we treat others matters.