Dear Editor: Addressing Whitehall Indivisible

Dear Editor,

I'd like to address the "Whitehall Indivisible" organizers:

I'm surprised that you refer to your group as "non-partisan" yet aligned yourselves with a nonprofit (Indivisible.org) whose mission statement is "to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda." That doesn't sound very non-partisan to me. The fact that the Indivisible organization takes its name from our Pledge of Allegiance (one nation... INDIVISIBLE) is just ironic; they are known for sending rent-a-mobs to town halls, rallies, and anti-Tesla protests. Whether the protestors are paid or not, they're organized and trained, and in my opinion, that's astroturf, not "grassroots."

I took the Pew political quiz (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/) mentioned in Holly Harper's piece on March 26th, and landed smack in the middle as a "stressed sideliner," which feels about right, but then took the quiz a second time and scored as "ambivalent right." In either case, I don't think I'd be welcome in your group, as you seem to have positioned yourselves at the far left end of the spectrum.

The political winds have shifted... suddenly and chaotically, I would agree, leaving us all a bit disoriented (or outraged, or thrilled, depending on your outlook.) I agree with the principles of resistance and pushback against the powers that be, but it doesn't sound as if progressives are trying to accept any changes they don't agree with, or to compromise on any issue, or to unite their fellow citizens - which is by definition DIVISIVE.

There's room for all of us in this beautiful valley, and thank goodness we're still free to express our opinions! I hope we can agree on that, at least.

BARBARA LIEN

Whitehall, Montana