The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/category/opinion/editorial/page/6/)
Being a newspaper, every now and then we have the great pleasure of publicly thanking a person who has toiled in the background for many years, performing essential work and serving as a backbone of the organization. As chair I have that honor on behalf of so many who have worked with Mary Ann Muska as she tirelessly volunteered thousands of hours for The Suffield Observer.
Throughout Connecticut, across the country, and around the world, people from all walks of life are demonstrating their belief that political leadership must take decisive action to acknowledge mistakes, take corrective action, then move on. Accountability is required to end racism and sexism.
This editorial is a direct result of me having said YES when I was asked to be editor of the month. This was one of the first YESs I had given in over a year. COVID cleared my evenings, my weekends and lessened many commitments.
I’m sure everyone in town has noticed the new (though not yet functional) traffic lights and their accompanying pole in our major intersection, where Mountain Road meets Main Street; they’re hard to miss. Uglier additions to our town center are hard to imagine.
As I’m sure many of our readers have noticed, Rick Stromoski’s cartoon has been missing from the paper for the past couple of months. Rick has decided to end his time with the Observer, and the town will be the poorer for it.
It’s been brought to my attention that some residents complain that The Suffield Observer is too liberal, that the paper doesn’t publish viewpoints other than those with a liberal slant. The editorial cartoons are too liberal and there is no voice for other viewpoints.
I remember as a kid reading JFK’s Profiles in Courage, a collection of stories about eight United States senators who showed courage in the face of great personal detriment by doing the right thing. Virtually all of them paid the price by losing their seats in Congress but maintained throughout their lives that, in John Quincy Adams’ words, “Private interest must not be put in opposition to the public good.”
2020 has certainly been a stressful year in all our lives, and the last few months particularly so. Dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, along with a hotly conducted and somewhat uncivilized presidential election, has added to the strain.
Here in this time of Covid-19, with all its limitations and boundaries, there are some relationships that have come to be more important than ever. If you are a pet owner, you know what I mean.