Fair behavior? Lessons learned at the Democrats’ booth at the Western Idaho Fair

There are a few things we learned while volunteering at the Ada County Democrats booth at the Western Idaho Fair: Most people are decent and able to discuss issues calmly and without rancor, there are a lot of people (including Republicans) who are disgusted by Idaho’s current GOP leadership, and there are some people who feel that it’s OK to intimidate, shout at and mock people who they don’t agree with.

For example, an elderly man suggested that the president should be shot, a group of people terrorized and blamed a young volunteer to tears and a man waving his cane screamed that we hate the flag.

Since when is it OK to come up to a complete stranger to say that another person should be killed? Why would a group of grown-ups think it’s a great idea to lord over and scream at another person for something that is completely out of her control? And why would another mature person think it’s OK to presume that an entire group of people (who were sharing information about candidates, our desire for properly funded education and voting) are unpatriotic? Maybe these folks should have read the “Be Kind” and “Be Patient” reminders that were posted all over the fair.

These examples are not within the “agree to disagree’‘ realm. We all have our moments of unkindness and grumpiness, but most of us were taught to keep unkindness to ourselves and to speak respectfully to our neighbors even when we disagree. Although, these examples highlight why Democrats in Idaho generally have very thick skin.

At our booth, we shared the ideals and principles that we, as Democrats, hold dear. We shared these with hundreds of fellow Idahoans who were willing to talk and listen, even if the conversation ended with a respectful agreement to disagree. If you were one of the many people who civilly shared your thoughts and listened to ours — thank you.

For those who are unaware of common Democratic principles, we wanted to share some of the values we hold dear.

We are deeply patriotic. We understand and cherish the rights given to us by both our U.S. and Idaho constitutions. We intensely respect our military and have many in our ranks who have served, have family members who served or who are currently in the military.

We strive toward “a more perfect union.” We value the greater good but still support individual freedoms and the right for people to choose the life they want to lead.

We support law enforcement. We treasure public lands, clean air and water, education and fiscally responsible and sensible leadership. We deeply want to live in and leave a habitable world for future generations.

Are we that different from other Idahoans of different political backgrounds? Don’t those values sound reasonable and sensible to most people?

This brings us to other lessons learned: Most people want sensible and responsible leadership. We care about each other and want our state to prosper. We recognize that children deserve a quality education and that we all should have a livable environment, be able to enjoy our public lands, be free to live the life we choose and have economic opportunities.

Finally, taking the message of “Be Kind” and “Be Patient” to heart, we will hold kindness and patience for those individuals who chose not to hold those values and hope that we can again live in a less divided and more compassionate society soon.