I came to Oregon in 1972, sight unseen, thinking I would be here for three years. But that didn’t happen. I came to enjoy and respect what we all have here. I have never regretted my decision, even as I recognized that Portland and Oregon have had a relatively easy time in the world geographically, economically and socio-politically. Our view of ourselves and our capabilities have never been really tested.
But over the last 10 years, our world has changed significantly. It seems that in this period of major stress we have not been able to effectively govern ourselves or engage in healthy socioeconomic decision making…