Barrow journal. (Winder, Ga.) 2008-2016, February 17, 2016, Image 4

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Barrow journal., February 17, 2016, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 4A BARROW JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016 Opinions “Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ” ~ Henry Ward Beecher - Of spring, presidential voting and making a stand Real beauty isn’t plastic Items from my reporter's notebook as / hope spring arrives soon: • The weatherman (pick whichever one you prefer) is calling for warmer tempera tures for the rest of the week. Personally, I’m glad. With spring sports now underway, few things are tougher than standing outside with the temperature in the 40s (or colder) and the wind howling. For those who have been to an Apalachee High School baseball game this time of the year, you know what I’m talking about. It’s the only place I’ve ever had to leave an event because it was simply too cold to tolerate. • Barrow County, as well as voters across the state, have been taking part in early vot ing which began Feb. 1 and continues through Feb. 26. (Note: I ventured to the Barrow County Elections Office last Thursday to cast my ballot.) Georgia’s official date for the 2016 pres idential primary is March 1. Secretary of State Brian Kemp successfully moved Georgia’s primary up to take part on the same day as several other states, cre ating what he termed a “Southeastern Conference” primary. Certainly, the voice of Georgia voters is as important as those of Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina or Nevada or anywhere else for that matter. Often we are not treated that way by presidential candidates, however, due to the fact that our state’s primary was not among the first few to take place. South Carolina is on deck for the Republicans this upcoming Saturday while Democrats will caucus in Nevada. The two states will flip flop the following Saturday. • Speaking of the presidential election, I’m going to go out on somewhat of a steady limb and say if Donald Trump wins the South Carolina primary on Saturday then we are going to see a snowball effect take place. Trump rolled to a win in New Hampshire despite many slanted political commenta tors trying to predict a big Trump collapse in the state. A victory that large is probably not in the works in South Carolina, but even a Trump win by six to eight points (he is currently up from 15 to 22 percent in most South Carolina polls) would be a huge win for him in a state that actually favors a candidate like Ted Cruz, on paper at least. Trump has defied most political “experts” from the day his campaign began. Footnote: What happened to those who said Trump would drop out of the race before Iowa? It seems we haven’t heard from them of late. Even with Trump making sev eral campaign appearances in South Carolina, he has been holding rallies in other states as well. That’s a sign of a candidate who has confidence he is going to be the nominee. He is not solely focused on one state, but making his campaign viable in numerous states. We’ve still got a long ways to go in this campaign season, but clearly the story has been the rise of Trump’s candidacy, something many tried to convince us would never get off the ground. • The recent series of columns by Barrow Journal co-founder and co-pub lisher Mike Buffington has caused quite a bit of feedback. Many people have asked me about the columns (see the latest on page 5A in today’s edition) and whether Mike fears any backlash from law enforce ment over his single pot plant protest over the use of medical cannabis. Clearly no one wants to be arrested and that includes Mike. However, if you are going to seriously take a stand for (or against) something, then you have to be willing to accept whatever consequences happen. As the person who oversees the edito rial part of the Barrow Journal, as well as all of its sister publications, Mike has always told his editors and reporters to be prepared to stand your ground when nec essary. If a government meeting is closed when it is not supposed to, then we have been told not to leave the meeting. Not long after I began working for this company in 2005, Mike and I went to the scene of an accident in neighboring Jackson County. Mike was going to take pictures and I was there to obtain whatev er information I could about the accident, which unfortunately was a deadly one. One of the deputies on the scene tried to tell Mike where he could and could not be. Mike calmly told the deputy he was not in the way of anything and that he would continue to take pictures from the vantage point he was at. The deputy continued to insist Mike move at which time my boss called the sheriff and told him he needed to talk to his deputy about trying to prevent him from doing his job. The phone was handed to the deputy and after 30 seconds or so of conversa tion, nothing else was said to Mike. I remember wondering at the time, how ever, if I would be going to the newspaper office that afternoon alone with my boss in the back of a sheriff’s deputy’s car after being handcuffed. That didn’t happen, but I witnessed first hand how Mike handled it. My mind flashed ahead to a future edition which said “Newspaper publisher arrested” with a pic of him being taken away. On Mike’s fight to make medical can nabis accessible for those who need it, it seems like such a non-issue. This is some thing which should be between a doctor and patient. There is no need for politi cians or law enforcement to be involved. However, the times we still live in dictate there are those involved who shouldn’t be. From a strict Libertarian standpoint, marijuana should be legal for any reason. If it were legal tomorrow, the criminal element would be eliminated. Some law enforcement groups are certainly against it since it would not allow as many “cus tomers” in county jails and not allow for the seizure of personal property, often before any type of trial or conviction takes place. Legalizing medical cannabis is certainly something whose time has long since passed. There should be no restrictions on what a person can use it for in terms of medical reasons. If a doctor and patient agree it’s best to use or try, then that should end the discussion. It’s time for politicians, law enforce ment, district attorneys and judges to get out of the way. • Finally, for those who claim that the judicial process is separate from the politi cal process, watch what transpires con cerning the nomination of a new Supreme Court judge. Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal. com. chris bridges The religious freedom battles have started Barbie has evolved. Mattel, the company that creates the iconic toy, recently revealed new options for the doll’s appearance. Barbie is now available with 24 eye colors, new hairstyles and with seven skin tones. And she can now stand up on her own feet. The new design removes the permanent arch of Barbie’s foot, allowing her to stand up without her plastic heels. But the more notable change to the doll’s form - or at least, the most talk ed about - is the addition of three new body types. Those on the market for a new Barbie can now find one with a petite, tall or curvy frame. The original doll frame is still available to purchase, but the new bodies add diversity to a toy that is popular among young girls in the country. The change reflects a larger cultural shift towards body acceptance, as a new wave of women push back against the idea that beauty is confined to a certain size. Beauty no longer means thinness, or tallness, or shortness...or whatever physical qualifier. And Barbie’s change reflects that. The new body types show that, yes, you can be beau tiful no matter your size. But is it enough? Creating a plastic doll to represent a real human is naturally conflicting. Barbie is perfect. Original Barbie, tall Barbie, petite Barbie, curvy Barbie... they are all perfect. Their skin, make-up and hair are perfect. Their bodies are molded into a perfect hourglass shape. Their clothes always fit. But real women aren’t perfect. Our human bod ies stretch, wrinkle, roll, dimple and eventually sag. Our faces get pimples. Our hair turns gray. Fat starts to accumulate in places it really and logically should not be. We aren’t plastic. We aren’t perfect. Over the past 55 years, many girls, including myself, have looked at the Barbie doll as a sym bol of beauty. She has grown to represent our culture’s desire for unattainable perfect beauty. The blame doesn’t fall solely on Barbie’s per fectly sculpted shoulders. The doll is just a part of a larger culture of photo-enhanced advertise ments, overly whitened teeth, and products that offer the false promise that we can achieve the unachievable. We change our bodies with surgeries and injec tions. We enhance our features with mascara and blush. We fight natural aging with ointments and creams that likely do more harm than good. I’ve made my fair share of attempts to achieve the unattainable over the years. I’ve waxed, teased, plucked, poked. I’ve accidentally burned my neck with a curling iron. I’ve tweezed my eyebrows to the point where I looked more alien than human. I’ve washed my hair with mayon naise. I’ve tried very hard, but none of my efforts resulted in perfection. There’s no harm in wanting to look your best, but the pressure to look perfect is danger ous. Some develop eating disorders, or have a botched plastic surgery. Some permanently dam age their skin with chemical peels, or ignore the dangers of sun exposure. Many develop a low self-esteem, because they’re constantly unable to live-up to what cul ture says is good. And having a plastic doll that preserves these ideals of perfection is dangerous. I’m not saying we need to toss out all of our dolls or declare a boycott. But more of an emphasis should be placed on the value of real beauty. We should teach the value of all women’s real beauty, instead of confining it to a fake and plastic beauty. You can be tall, petite or curvy, and beautiful. But you can also be real and beautiful. Alex Pace is a reporter with the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at apace@barrow- journal.com. Whatever happened to faith, hope, and love? I was taught those Christian virtues at a very young age, but they were scarcely in evidence last week as members of the Georgia House of Representatives debated one of the “religious free dom” bills that has been introduced this session. Instead, I heard a lot of anger, fear, and hostility. Of the eight religious freedom bills that are pending, tom crawford the House was considering one of the mild er versions, the “Pastor protection” bill that keeps preachers from being sued if they don’t want to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies. Legislative leaders like Speaker David Ralston supported the measure because they hoped it would satisfy the wishes of conservative legislators who are determined to pass a religious freedom bill this year. “We can draw lines in the sand, we can lash out at those who oppose us and remain intractable, or we can seek out common ground and move forward together,” Ralston said. “What the bill does is address real concerns from constituents all over the state of Georgia.” Several lawmakers, however, made it clear they want to vote on other reli gious freedom bills that would be more far-reaching in their effects. “This bill doesn’t cover Georgians like me, in my opinion,” said Rep. Kevin Cooke (R-Carrollton). “I believe it is our responsibility to protect all Georgians and I don’t think this bill goes far enough.” “This bill only starts it,” insisted Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth). “This is an important protection, but friends, we have to do more. If we stop here and don’t go further, we have not done our duty.” As the debate moved along, some lawmakers seemed downright angry that they should even have to talk about gay marriages being legal. “The religious community is being persecuted ... the religious community is being attacked,” Rep. Paul Battles (R-Cartersville) declared. “It may be the last time the people of God can stand up and say, ‘enough is enough.’ Enough is enough, and we speak today when we vote yes to this legislation.” All of these proposed bills that would protect the religious liberties of besieged Christians are yet the latest example of legislators searching for a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. If you want to talk about genuine reli gious persecution, take a few moments and read about the extermination of six million Jews during World War II. Nothing even close to that is happening in Georgia. There are no recorded incidents of any Baptist preacher or Methodist min ister being jailed because they would not perform a same-sex wedding cer emony. The First Amendment has pro tected the clergy for more than two centuries. People aren’t being arrested because they choose to go to services at a par ticular place of worship, nor is anyone putting a gun to someone’s head and forcing them to attend a church they don’t believe in. If Christians are being persecuted so strenuously, as lawmakers contended during last week’s debate, then how do you account for the fact that more than 70 percent of the American population in public surveys identifies its religious affiliation as Christian? There are evidently a substantial number of people who never took the time to study the U.S. Constitution and don’t have a very deep knowledge of American government. They believe they’re going to be overrun by hordes of vengeful gays with marriage licenses. “I started getting a lot of phone calls from pastors I knew in my district and other districts who were concerned and afraid about it (the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling),” said Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville). “I got a call from a woman who was crying because she was sure her hus band would go to jail for refusing to violate his faith (and perform a same sexwedding),” Tanner recounted. “I felt we needed to do something other than words to reassure our faith community.” State government isn’t going to force anyone to attend a gay wedding if they don’t want to. It’s silly to think that. On the other hand, it’s obvious that some folks still need some reassuranc es. That’s why we’re destined to hear a lot more debate over these religious bills in the last few weeks of the General Assembly session. Tom Crawford is editor of The Georgia Report, an internet news ser vice at gareport.com that reports on state government and politics. He can be reached at tcrawford@gareport. com. Barrow Journal Winder, Barrow County, Ga. www.BarrowJournal.com Mike Buffington... Co-Publisher POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Scott Buffington.. Co-Publisher The Barrow Journal 77 East May Street Winder, Georgia 30680 Chris Bridges Editor Published 52 times per year by Jessica Brown.... Photographer Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. Susan Treadwell Reporter Periodicals postage paid at Winder, Georgia 30680 (USPS 025-132) Alex Pace Reporter Email: news@barrowjournal.com Sharon Hogan.... Reporter Phone: 770-867-NEWS (6397) Fax: 678-425-1435 Member SUBSCRIPTIONS: Georgia Press Association National Newspaper Association $25.00/yr.