I recently saw a high school classmate from California advocating to vote against I-177 at the trapper’s booth during the Ravalli County Fair. He stated that “any change is bad.”
I have lived in Montana for eight years and he for 25 years. He considers himself to be a true Montanan, but not me. Even after I have lived here for 25 years it will not be enough because he will have lived here for 42. My classmate, typical from what I have heard from other Montanans, wants change to end the day he moved here. He is a retired mason who profited and raised his family by indirectly encouraging people here as a result of the stores he helped build in Missoula and other cities in Montana.
Now my classmate cannot figure out why he has to deal with more people and his way of living is affected. He also claims to honor our veterans for their service and protecting our democratic way of life–I guess that is only if the vote does not make a change against what HE wants.
Steven Greer
Corvallis