Cheryl Kolbe
Sept. 17, 2015
Yamhill County Commission
McMinnville, Ore.
Please be seated for this secular in- vocation. I am an atheist, so today, in- stead of looking to any higher power, I ask that we think about listening. I'd like to start with some things others are reported to have said about listening. From a couple of presidents: Calvin Coolidge: "It takes a great man to be a good listener." LBJ: "If you're not listening, you're not learning."
But what is listening? Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: "Most people do not lis- ten with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply."
And Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action: "There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak."
I really like this one. Alan Alda: "Listening is being able to be changed by the other person."
Could listening lead to a world where we do not ask someone who is different from us to accept our ways? Could we create a world where one person's will is not imposed on others.
In Greece v. Galloway, our courts decided several things: Invocations at government meetings such as this are legal. And, as is happening today, all groups, including atheists, must be allowed to give an invocation. Invocations are not required, and I think we likely agree that they are controversial.
Commissioners, my belief is that each of you takes your job very seriously and strives to do your best at all meetings. You are dedicated people who have chosen to give your best to this community. It seems unlikely to me that you would take your job less seriously based on the content of an invocation or the lack of an invocation. If this is true, I ponder, why offend some by having invocations? Why not accept that each person is different, and what is a positive for one may in fact be offensive to another? By all means, privately pray to your god or gods. Allow others to privately engage in whatever behavior is meaningful and valuable to them. Why not be respectful of all and discontinue the practice of invocations?
Cheryl Kolbe is founder and president of FFRF's Portland-area chapter. She retired from Portland Community College in 2004 as student systems support manager for enrollment services, with responsibility for software implementation. This is her third secular invocation to county boards.