Six Panelists, Six Great Ideas, One Impressed Audience
Written by Tim Buckley & Jim Seymour, July 2025
It was through the lens of Mortimer Adler’s book, Six Great Ideas, that three grassroots panelists, representing their Neighborhood Family Councils, and three grass top panelists, the Mayors of Salem and Keizer and the chairperson of the Salem Keizer School District, examined how the ideas of Liberty, Equality, Justice, Truth, Goodness and Beauty guide them in their personal lives and public service leadership roles.
Adler asserts that Liberty, Equality, and Freedom are the core values in the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. They are the values we, as Americans, agree to be governed by. Adler also asserts that Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are ideas woven into the very fabric of America’s founding.
Each panelist was asked to share a story from their own life and relate it to one or more of the Six Great Ideas. It was surprising to find how many of those stories overlapped, despite the very different personal circumstances. For Salem Mayor Julie Hoy, it was witnessing her mother’s strength in the face of adversity. Similarly, longtime educator and SKSD board chair Cynthia Richardson remembered being one of three daughters raised by a single mom.
RJ Navarro, the son of migrant workers, got into a lot of trouble as a young man. What refocused his life was the birth of his first child.
It was a similar circumstance for Omar Alvarado. Speaking about the birth of his son Omar said, “I stopped thinking only about me. I became focused on the long-term health of my family.”
Chistine Potter shared a childhood memory about a difficult time when her father lost his job. It wasn’t easy for her dad and mom to accept the help of family members and friends to just get by, but they did and eventually got back on their feet. Christine said, “From that experience I learned goodness is an active force!”
Cathy Clark grew up in Los Angeles “in turbulent times”, which included civil unrest, violent anti-war protests and civil rights reform. Her parents’ passion for equality and justice informed her decisions as an adult. “Both my husband and I chose to express our individuality through community service, to be part of a collective that works for the good of all,” she said
Liberty, Justice and Equality are the ideas we as Americans have agreed to be governed by. According to Adler, the ideas of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are also tightly woven into what it means to be an American. Taken together these Six Great Ideas can help guide us in our individual and community pursuit of happiness.
