‘The Idaho Way’ means different things to different people
When 28 Republican legislators sent a letter to new Boise State University President Marlene Tromp last year, imploring her to get rid of diversity and inclusionary programs at BSU, they cited Gov. Brad Little in stating, “We need to do things ‘The Idaho Way!’ ”
Invoking “The Idaho Way” rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and touched off a firestorm of debate on just what is The Idaho Way.
The Idaho Way means a lot of different things to different people.
For me, it means a kind of rugged individualism — pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, while at the same time helping your neighbor in need. That’s my basic understanding of what I’ve seen it mean since my family moved here in 2006.
I’ve seen it firsthand when thousands show up for the Melba disaster auction to raise tens of thousands of dollars for those in need. I’ve seen both sides of it when a Kuna farmer toiled mostly by the sweat of his brow for 40 years, provided for his family and built a living out of ground that now needs a rock cutter to break up. When he retired, hundreds came to his farm auction, bidding up the sale of his beat-up boots and sweat-stained cowboy hat.
If you invoke “The Idaho Way” for that kind of thing, I don’t think you’ll get much argument. But if you start injecting politics into the phrase, that’s where you start to run into trouble.
The Republican legislators were invoking The Idaho Way to decry what they say is segregation and exclusion when it comes to diversity efforts. But those who took umbrage said opposing diversity and inclusion is akin to discrimination against minorities and historically disenfranchised groups of citizens, and that’s certainly not The Idaho Way.
With that in mind, we’ve launched a new opinion-based newsletter called “The Idaho Way.” We’ve named it The Idaho Way because it’s an invitation for you to help define what it means to be an Idahoan, what Idaho means to you.
It’s meant to invite a diversity of opinions and perspectives. It’s meant to be a conversation, not just me telling you what I think, but listening to what you have to say.
Along the way, I’ll share some more personal insights in the newsletter, stuff that won’t necessarily make it in print or online. I’ll be sharing what I’m working on each week in terms of columns and editorials, and I’ll give you a sneak peek of what’s coming up. It will also include links to what you’ve been saying and other things that I’m reading that’s of interest. As is my practice, I’m sure I’ll come up with other features for the newsletter as I go along to continue giving it value, and I’ll be listening to your feedback about what you want to see in the newsletter.
Eventually, my goal is to use the newsletter, as well, to create a community of sorts, using the newsletter to invite readers to listening sessions and meetups. So stay tuned for that.
Readers will receive the newsletter by email at 5 a.m. each Friday morning. To sign up for the newsletter, click on “Newsletters” under “Customer Service” at idahostatesman.com or go to www.idahostatesman.com/idahoway.
You can join the conversation through letters to the editor, comments on our website — even emails back to me personally — to let me know how we’re doing. You can email me at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com, and you can send letters to the editor to editorial@idahostatesman.com.
