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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Monday Calendar: Monday, Nov. 3 Who you going to call? School has its own rodent-buster Day of the undead: Thousands pack downtown Ashland Oregon Climate proposes carbon cost be redistributed Education Who you going to call? School has its own rodent-buster And the winners are ... Ashland students Marketta Gregory: Stretch yourself for God Every minute counts, so make punctuality a habit Helman students illustrate kindness, love Environment Oregon Climate proposes carbon cost be redistributed Rite Aid cub well, could come back to southern Oregon Report: Smaller streams need further protection Bear cub wanders into Rite Aid Kalmiopsis' future at stake if mining goes forward Business Ride & Drive: 2015 Volvo S60 sedan Ride & Drive: 2015 Lincoln Navigator Greg Zyla: Motorsport personality Rod Spalding’s three collectible vehicles and his outstanding injured drivers fund Stingray Convertible is a world-beater Swing Tree Brewing Company Politics and elections Election equipment fails, delaying ballot counting Senator Merkley brings campaign to SOU Second write-in candidate makes commission position a contest Underdog Christofferson holds out hope of upsetting Walden Aquatics backer announces write-in candidacy for Parks & Rec board State News Nation - World Obituaries Death Notices Jean Ann Haar Death Notices Death Notices Bess Hamers Sports Latest Stories Putting himself on the line Grizzlies roar into playoffs with rout of Eagles Giants do it again Grizzlies serve way into Sweet 16 Raiders move up to No. 5 in Top 25 High school Grizzlies roar into playoffs with rout of Eagles Grizzlies serve way into Sweet 16 They're twins, and they're good Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida What slump? 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Hopkins: George Washington spoke, we listen Letters to the Editor, Nov. 3 Our View: Preparing for the worst Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote Granlund cartoon: Election winners Editorial Our View: Preparing for the worst Our View: Divestment is just a gesture Our View: Keeping the lid on Other Views: Help for Oregon's forests Our View: The Hills are alive Letters Letters to the Editor, Nov. 3 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 24 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Guest opinions Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote Guest Opinion: Oregon poised to mandate GMO labeling Guest Opinion: Three ways to take action against carbon pollution Guest Opinion: An aristocracy of the people Teaching the First Amendment Revels Latest Stories Q&A: The John Dough Boys Spookadelic Halloween Funktacular promises a lively dance party Best bets for things to do around Ashland Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'I'm in this for the love' Theater New plays debut at ANPF Music Best bets for things to do around Ashland The Farr Side: On ‘1989,’ Taylor Swift lightens up 'I'm in this for the love' Repertory singers prepare 'powerful' opening concert Q&A: Broken Down Guitars Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Nightcrawler’ delivers on creep factor Christopher and Jonathan Nolan go ‘Interstellar’ Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'St. Vincent' is a revelatory experience Movie review: ‘Whiplash’ hits high notes Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories It Is What It Is: Big moments are everywhere you turn Get a Life: Avoid sweating the small stuff Ride & Drive: 2015 Volvo S60 sedan Ride & Drive: 2015 Lincoln Navigator Jeff Vrabel: What’s the deal with the Giant TV Thing? Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Calendar: Monday, Nov. 3 ... Our View: Preparing for the worst ... Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote ... Calendar: Monday, Nov. 3 ... Our View: Preparing for the worst ... Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote ... COMMENTARY Guest Opinion: An aristocracy of the people By Chris Honoré DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré Posted Oct. 29, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Chris Honoré Posted Oct. 29, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News E.M. Forster wrote in “Two Cheers for Democracy”: “I believe in aristocracy, though — if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power, based on rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the ages, and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. They represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer race over cruelty and chaos. Thousands of them perish in obscurity, a few are great names. They are sensitive for others as well as themselves, they are considerate without being fussy, their pluck is not swankiness but the power to endure, and they can take a joke.” When I think of progressives, what comes to mind is not the lefties so easily stereotyped in the '60s; rather I think of those who created the New Deal, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, who were in office when we landed on the beaches of Normandy and sat next to Stalin and Churchill as allied troops slogged across some of the most lethal terrain imaginable on their way toward Berlin. And, to be fair, there was Teddy Roosevelt, who created some of the most jaw-dropping parks Americans continue to enjoy today. And not to forget, post-World War II, the Republicans who embraced the construction of the Interstate Highway System that now connects our nation, coast to coast. When I think of those antecedents, men and women — and not to forget Lincoln — Forster’s words come to mind. And when I think of conservatives today, those who righteously stand on the right, I cringe at the thought that in this coming mid-term election they could be rewarded by the electorate. Granted, I sit in the cheap seats, but I also try to pay attention, and the Republicans seem like a mean-spirited, narrow lot, perpetually cranky, folks driven by the uncompromising edict that government is the problem, not the solution, and are not above shutting down Washington, costing billions, in a dark attempt to blackmail President Obama. Mitch McConnell, running for re-election in Kentucky, has promised, if given a majority in the senate, the Republicans will tear the Affordable Care Act up by the roots. And that same majority will make sure the federal minimum wage will not be raised and equal pay for equal work will never pass. Our failing infrastructure will remain unrepaired. Man-made climate change will still be questioned. And in the grim shadow of Sandy Hook, those same Republicans will stand with the NRA while rejecting even the most benign gun registration. Meanwhile, conservatives will continue to shut down women’s wellness clinics and make it all but impossible for many to avail themselves of their still-legal right to have a first-trimester abortion, even if the cause is rape or incest. And to insure that they win the much coveted majority in the Senate, while buttressing their majority in the House, they have pushed for onerous voter I.D. laws, despite the fact that voter fraud is all but non-existent. Such laws will, of course, suppress the votes of blacks and Hispanics (who tend to vote Democratic). How to comprehend that the Republicans are riding a growing wave of voter support, one they hope will crest on Election Day and result in their winning a majority in the Senate and thereby take control of both houses? What has been equally disconcerting is the retreat of the Democrats from what has been accomplished since President Obama was elected in 2008 (where’s their pluck?). Start with health care. Defend it. It’s a fine start. Stand with the president on any given dais and point out that it is the Republicans who have malevolently obstructed the president’s efforts to fix what the previous administration wrought while having the temerity to accuse him of being ineffective. How is their strategy not obvious and why would they be rewarded? Chris Honoré lives in Ashland. 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