Let?s be open to different viewpoints

To the editor:

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, spoke a week ago at a celebration honoring outgoing Sen. Tom Harkin, who served 40 years in the Congress and Senate.

President Clinton said Tom Harkin showed us that politics can be a noble profession, and people who disagree can get together, work together and find common ground.

Bill Clinton continued: No matter what we disagree on, we have to have a willingness find a way to work together, to make agreements, and get this show on the road.

The entire afternoon, especially President Clinton?s talk was a call to arms to disarm the angry communications between political bodies that hurt America, and to set an example for the world, of how cooperation helps everyone to reach beneficial goals.

Bill also emphasized that conflicts we see here are reflected throughout the world. With this view we might save many lives, much suffering and billions of dollars by looking deeply into conflicts that arise locally, and give clear voice to both sides.

Iowa can be an example for America and some feel Fairfield sets an example in Iowa in taking time to hear all input before throwing power behind any promising idea.

Clinton criticized politicians who think they are right all the time, and feel if they agree with others it somehow compromises them. He said this is a modest reflection of conflict going on everywhere in the world today.

Clinton also spoke of how interdependent and technologically advanced society is today and that this may give answers to how best to move into the coming years.

Considering community discussions here recently in Jefferson County, it may be good for all involved to take time to be open to and investigate alternatives different from the norm, for what may bring greatest progress for us all. No one group is exempt from hasty, maybe shortsighted, decisions, for I have personally experienced them on both sides, with some rash judgments by the university and with our county attorney signing an order to have some of my horses seized in cold weather without following what I understand as Iowa legal procedure.

Our former economic development director, who recently joined the Sheriff?s Office, finds no problem with thousands more trucks on the highways of Jefferson County. And yet he visited my farm and criticized that a few horses were thin after a hard winter. Our assistant county attorney followed by saying that I must cut my herd to 5 horses.

If we all do what we can to make ourselves better, this may spill over into our world.

? Stephen Ulicny, Fairfield