LETTER to the Editor

What children are taught at home

To the editor, As a kid, I loved going to_the county fair in my hometown._The excitement of putting together my 4-H projects to submit and the thrill of winning a blue ribbon were part of the fun that came with the carnival atmosphere and community engagement.

Fast forward to adulthood._This year, I volunteered _to work in a small political party booth in the round barn as I have in the past._I always look forward_to talking_with people from different walks of life about their ideas and concerns. _I'm not foolish enough to expect that views will always be the same as mine, and I'm open and happy to discuss them rationally._ Unfortunately, over the years I've witnessed the discourse and behavior become more angry, less civil, and increasingly hostile._This includes the vitriol hurled at me by adults and the roving clots of teens who harassed our volunteers and vandalized our display while disrupting commerce for vendors near our booth. These examples rise to a level of abuse that tarnishes the principles for which the fair stands.

I know that politics have become a lightning rod for the quick-tempered and misinformed._ Now I've witnessed it coming from children, and it saddens me to imagine what they are being taught at home.

Tammy Tollefson Town of Clifton