“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

Last week, after almost three years of a pandemic-enforced exile from the United States, it was time to take the plunge across the border into Never Never Land.

Now, I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t do this with a certain amount of trepidation. News junkie that I am, I’m more than a little aware of the accelerating rate of mass murders, mayhem and political unrest on the streets of the Great Republic.

According to the US Gun Violence Archive, mass shootings are happening virtually daily in the US with an average of more than 13 mass shootings a week and more than 400 killed by the end of July 2022. And when they’re not shooting each other, many Americans are talking about the next civil war and when it will happen. Who wants to get close to that?

And that would be me. As well as my good wife Sandra, the one who likes to read newspapers so much.

So last Saturday, we nervously crossed the line into Idaho, one of the most dangerous states in the Union known for its white supremacists and neo-Nazi nativists including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Aryan Nations and Panhandle Patriot Front. Idaho is also an “open carry” state where you can openly pack your Glock or any other handgun into the grocery store or school board meetings.

Despite this, the border officer was friendly and after a few cursory questions and displaying our passports, she welcomed us to the Gem State and we were off to Sandpoint, a popular tourist and artist town on the sandy shores of Lake Pend Oreille with a population less than half of Cranbrook. It didn’t take long to find the park just off the downtown and soon we had our chairs set up and blankets spread out in the shade of one of the large cedar trees overlooking the expansive beach.

The scene was postcard perfect. A flotilla of paddle-boarders, kayakers and swimmers splashing in the clear blue water of the lake. Kids building sandcastles, teenagers diving from a raft and adults reading and relaxing in folding camp chairs watching the kids or cooking up a storm on portable barbecues they set up adjacent to the beach.

It was a perfect family tableau and it brought back happy memories of my childhood when we used to holiday in the same manner on the shores of Kootenay Lake. I couldn’t help but remark to my wife that I felt no danger in this tranquil scene and saw no evidence of the hate and vitriol poisoning American politics and no extremists or guns in sight. “No evidence of a civil war here,” I thought to myself. That was to change on our way home.

We were driving north on Highway 95 with a gorgeous orange sun setting behind us when we passed a crude sign on the right saying in large black letters: “Off Grid Doctor.” A bit odd I thought and then I realized we were driving across from Ruby Ridge where a dispute in 1991 involving a survivalist family and the authorities turned violent, resulting in three deaths including a mother, her son and a US Marshall who were highly criticized for their handling of the confrontation.

Obviously, the memory of Ruby Ridge hasn’t entirely faded I thought to myself as we headed north.

Then, just south of Bonners Ferry, a large wooden sign appeared that caused me to stop. “Welcome to TRUMP Country” it read in bold, black letters. “LOVE GOD, GUNS, FAMILY, FREEDOM & your NEIGHBOR. Below the main sign tacked on one of its legs was another ominous sign that said: “Ammon Bundy for Governor.”

Now that really got me thinking because political junkie that I am I’ve read a few things about Ammon Bundy and they’ve sounded scary. Generally described as a “far right, anti-government activist,” the burly rancher originally from Nevada was arrested and jailed but not convicted for leading two armed-standoffs against government authorities in Nevada and Oregon. The Washington Post describes him as “a popular renegade-type figure” riding the wave of Trumpian anti-government fervor sweeping the nation.

Wearing his signature brown cowboy hat and often armed, Bundy even attacks many Republicans who don’t share his extreme views including opposing vaccine mandates and believing the “Big Lie” that Trump won the election. “I’m tired of our freedoms being taken from us, and I’m tired of the corruption that is rampant in our state government.”

Whatever the case, the next time I go to Idaho I’ll be ignoring political signs and sticking strictly to the beach.

Photos by Gerry Warner

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist , who prefers swimming to politics especially at Lake Pend Oreille.

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