Officials from the Oregon Health Authority released updated mask guidelines Tuesday, May 18, saying that businesses and churches can choose to no longer require masks and distancing for fully vaccinated people, but those places must have visitors show proof of vaccination.

Politicization and polarization are rife in our nation, a new paradigm that continues to haunt and shadow our democracy, but that’s why a project by a local high school student we showcased in this newspaper last week was significant and, frankly, a bit of good news.

Pendleton High School student Chloe Taber put together an effort that created 1,000 identical face masks for students and staff. Taber created the masks to inspire people to wear a mask as we settle into a school year where the new challenge of COVID-19 as a reality.

Ms. Taber’s effort and determination deserves praise. It was a splendid project and, unlike just about everything else in our society today, absent of politics. The intent of the venture was simply to help other people. Quite a concept in today’s world.

Believe it or not there was a time not long ago when such projects by dedicated, caring residents were the backbone of America that promised a bright future.

Because it is an election year, partisanship is acute. That’s to be expected. What feels different right now, though, is the general sense of unease that permeates from shore to shore. The unease is carefully cultivated by political factions to create discord. Whether from the left or the right, the rhetoric seems to climb to dangerous levels each week.

The nation and our state have evolved into a place where division reigns supreme. Elected leaders, pundits and voters all appear to be geared toward total political victory regardless of the costs. Compromise, the bedrock of democracy, is shunned. A scorched-earth method of political triumph is the national calling card now.

That’s a shame and carries long term, dangerous overtones for our republic.

There is a lot of shouting today on the political stage, laced with threats and impatience. The one thing, for example, that seemingly could never be politicized — a microscopic virus — was rolled out onto the political stage.

It’s been a tough year so far, no doubt about it, and it could get tougher. That’s why when seeming small, individual triumphs that help the community arise — such as Ms. Taber’s mask project — it is right that it is given the proper notice it deserves.

While the shouting goes on across the nation and our state, and just about anything and everything can be politicized, it is refreshing to just look at an event where a young woman simply did a good thing to help her community.