There's a murmur rolling across Idaho this morning. From Twin Falls in the South to Coeur d'Alene in the north people are starting to get restless. The faces are different. The names change from town to town. But the conversations are the same. The target is the same. Their group is the same. And as has happened so much in history in this mildly populated state, the land and nature sets the pace.
The snow melts in the late spring and rivulets appear. Rivulets form creeks which form streams. Streams then merge and flow to create mighty rivers like the Columbia down the west slope of the Continental Divide and the Missouri towards the east.
Scattered like small blocks of Lego's, individuals have been quietly gathering around the state in pockets of one, two or three. A couple of friends share their mutual concerns about the environment over a cup of coffee at the local diner in Parma. Three men talk about the economy in a barber shop in Orofino. A few here and a few there.
The conversations
The economy. The environment. LGBT
rights. The death penalty.
Abortion. And more. All of the same issues that are taking their
place on the national stage are being put on the table for discussion in
Idaho. Topics that people just whispered
about 30 years ago are now the subject of protests, marches and actions on
court house steps. While the older
generation of activists still talk to small groups; younger activists take to
the streets. While the older ones
organize letter writing campaigns, the younger ones stand in the town square
and shout, "Whose democracy is this?" And
in Idaho there's room for both.
The target
The statehouse in Boise. Corporate
America. Any organization or person that
is exploiting people, places and things for their own -- or their cronies -- financial
gain. Corrupt politicians in Boise who
have sacrificed words such as truth, honor and justice for the sake of staying
in office, lining their pockets or both.
Laws that stifle the air that free men and women breath and replace it
with the putrid stench of legislators selling out the pristine heritage of
Idaho to the gas and oil companies; actually colluding with each other to rape
the earth just to chase the dollar.
The group
United Vision for Idaho. A coalition of
approximately twenty four groups that are as scattered geographically as they
are in their causes. Under the
leadership of Executive Director, Adrienne Evans though, things are
changing. Now, instead of pigeonholing
issues and segregating causes, people are seeing that each issue impacts others
and in turn is impacted by others. Like
an interlocking Chinese puzzle which each part has a place, in Idaho each group
has a place, but the groups working together create a sum that is greater than
the parts.
On Saturday, June 12th, United Vision for Idaho will hold its second annual celebration of freedoms in Julia Davis Park, Boise, Idaho. For more information, visit their website, http://www.uvidaho.org/.
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