About Barrow journal. (Winder, Ga.) 2008-2016 | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2016)
PAGE 4A BARROW JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 Opinions “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. ~ Thomas Jefferson ~ Fighting a lost battle Graduations and memories of high school nights High school graduation has been on the minds of many in recent days. With seniors seemingly graduating earlier and earlier most in the Class of 2016 have already enjoyed their final days as high school students. It’s a time filled with mixed emo tions. There is excitement to final ly be finished with high school. While many will continue their education at the collegiate level, there is always a sense of accomplishment when that first portion of the education process has been completed. While excitement can certainly be seen on the faces of all graduates, it is also a time of reflection and even sad ness in some ways. It’s that way when any stage of our life is completed. Often students have grown up together and are in the same class since kindergarten. While there are always promises of stay ing in touch (and that is certainly easier to do in 2016 than when I graduated high school way too many moons ago.) However, life dictates that we aren’t always able to stay in touch even with our best of intentions. Life goes on as high school graduates begin college or enter the military. We then go into our full-time professions which often means moving away from our hometowns and where we attended high school. Still, there is such a foundation built during our high school, middle and elementary school careers that the les sons learned during those years help us years, decades, later. It’s all part of the learning process. For me, I had the chance to return to my high school alma mater this past weekend as my old team was competing in the state baseball playoffs. I don’t get to see my old team as much as I would like, but I try to make it back as often as possible, especially when one of our athletic teams is enjoying a memorable season in the arena in which they com pete. By chance, as I approached the school I saw one of the current administrators who asked me how long it had been since I had actually been inside the school buildings. “I can’t remember when I was,” was my answer. With 27 years having elapsed since I was a high school senior, it was some what an odd feeling walking down the hallways again. Clearly, some things had changed, but there were some things which were pretty much the same as when I was a student at my small school. One of the items I stopped and looked at hanging in the hallway was a display of each graduating class going all the way back to when the school first opened. I scanned the years and the photos accompanying them until I found the one I was featured in, the Class of 1989. There in the picture I could be seen sit ting on our high school’s stage with my classmates almost three decades ago. I’m not sure how long it had been since I was inside the school (I’m think ing I have been inside at least once or twice since graduating) but it had certainly been years since my last trek. All of the students in school now were yet to be born when I was last there. That’s a strange feeling to wrap your mind around. I made my way to the baseball field and watched my old school advance in the playoffs. The seniors on the team had actually graduated the day before but their high school careers are being extended a little, at least until the end of baseball season. As I watched the games, I wondered if they would return in 27 years remember ing the good times they had. Something tells me they will, if circumstances allow. High school memories have a way of staying with you even decades later. Winder resident Chris Bridges is edi tor of the Barrow Journal. He can be reached at cbridges@barrowjournal. com. This is one of those times when I feel like I’m watching the movie “Groundhog Day.” The same things keep happening over and over, with the same ending. Once again, conservative Georgians are urging their friends and colleagues to defy the directives of an evil federal government determined to ram its liberal way of life down every one’s throat. The battle this time is about transgender students and their ability to use bathrooms in public schools. North Carolina enacted a law that would restrict such students to using only the bathroom that matches the sex listed on their birth certificate. The Obama administration told North Carolina officials that their new law amounted to ille gal sexual discrimination, which put the state in peril of losing federal funds for education. Letters were sent to school systems in Georgia and other states advising them to allow equal bathroom access for transgender students. That triggered the latest battle of a civil war that should have ended in 1865, but never will. A group of Republican state sena tors fired off a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal and Attorney General Sam Olens demanding that they sue the federal government for this “overreach” in authority. “As we should know by now, the social engineering goals of the Left are designed to destroy our constitutional system of federalism in order to grow the power of the federal government in all aspects of our lives,” the letter said. A similar letter was signed by several conservative activists, including a lob byist for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board: “While it is true that policy about transgender accommodations can cer tainly be handled by local schools, the Governor should also encourage local school systems to defy the directive... . We also call on local superintendents and local school boards to protect their students from this harmful social engi neering by refusing to comply with the unlawful decree.” Deal and Olens are both lawyers who are smart enough to know that filing such a lawsuit would be a legal battle the state is surely destined to lose. They expressed sympathy with the outraged citizens, but carefully avoided making any commitment to actually file litigation. “Until Congress acts, I assure the citizens of Georgia that the offices of the governor, attorney general and state school superintendent will work cooperatively to protect the interests of Georgia’s children from this abuse of federal executive authority,” Deal said. “As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, I will take steps, when appropri ate under the law, to ensure that these decisions are being made at the appro priate level, as demanded by principles of separation of powers and federalism under our Constitution,” was all Olens would say about a possible lawsuit. Georgia officials have already fought a war over transgender discrimination in federal court and lost decisively. Eleven years ago, an employee in the General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Counsel was in the process of transitioning from male to female after being diagnosed as having gender identity disorder. Sewell Brumby, who was in charge of the counsel’s office, met with the employee, now named Vandy Beth Glenn, and asked if she intended to become a woman. When Glenn said that she did, Brumby fired her. Glenn then sued the state for discrimination. In the course of that lawsuit, Brumby testified that “some members of the Legislature would view that taking place within our office as perhaps immoral, perhaps unnatural and perhaps, if you will, lib eral or ultra-liberal.” One of the federal judg es remarked: “You can’t discriminate against someone because they don’t behave the way you expect them to behave because of their sex.” The court ruled in Glenn’s favor. Southerners have a long history of fighting for these kinds of lost causes. They started a civil war over slavery, put up “massive resistance” to school integration and civil rights, tried to keep gays from getting married, and are now demand ing that we shut the bathroom door to transgender students. They lost all of those battles and they will lose this one. You would think that at some point they’d realize the futility of it and agree to let non-white and non-heterosexual people exercise the same rights as everyone else. I guess that’s expecting too much. 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.BarrowJoumal.com Mike Buffington Co-Publisher Scott Buffington Co-Publisher Chris Bridges Editor Jessica Brown Photographer Susan Treadwell Reporter Alex Pace Reporter Sharon Hogan Reporter Jessica Payne Advertising Wesleigh Sagon Photographer Legal Organ of Barrow County SUBSCRIPTIONS: $25.00/yr. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Barrow Journal 77 East May Street Winder, Georgia 30680 Published 52 times per year by Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Winder, Georgia 30680 (USPS 025-132) Email: news@barrowjournal.com Phone: 770-867-NEWS (6397) Fax: 706-621-4115 MEMBER: Georgia Press Association National Newspaper Association Georgia Sports Writers Association on the calendar, Civic duty doesn’t end at poll booth The General Primary elections have now come and gone. Many took the opportu nity to cast their vote this week, completing their civic duty and having their voices heard. No matter the actu al outcome of the elections, whether a person’s candidate collected the most votes and won, or whether their vote actually “counted,” their civic duty is done until the next election. But politics doesn’t end at the poll booth. In reality, that’s where many political careers begin. So why should citizens limit their political involvement to voting? Don’t get me wrong; voting done right and responsibly is hard work. It is not confined to the time spent in the elections office. Many times it involves researching policies, asking questions and comparing candidates. It takes hard work to make sure you’re casting an informed vote. But voting is not the only way to have your voice heard. We live (for the most part) in a democracy. A government that is run by the people must also have the involvement of its people in politics. Too often we think our only civic duty is to elect a person to represent us. It is irresponsible to elect candidates then turn a blind eye to those candidates’ actions. Elected officials need to be held accountable and they need input from their constituents. Elected officials should not be the only people involved in politics. Attend a city council or board of com missioners meeting. Go to a rally or sign a petition. Volunteer to help with the cam paign of a candidate you support. Start a group within your neighborhood that fights for the needs of your community. Get involved. Do something. That involvement will look differently for each person. Some opt out of voting. Some don’t have time to attend meetings, or they’re too shy to approach their represen tatives. That’s o.k. Get involved in whatever way you can. During an election year — especially one like this year where tensions are high — social media becomes an outlet to dis cuss (complain about) politics. Suddenly, every Facebook friend is a political analyst and an expert on foreign policy, govern ment spending and immigration. People are interested in politics. But they’re not going to get much done by complaining about it online. Social media provides a sense of com munity. But aside from fundraising efforts and maybe petitions, online civic involve ment doesn’t have much power. It is great for sharing ideas and organizing thoughts and groups. In some situations, social media can help create a larger change. But the city council doesn’t scroll through their Twitter feed when deciding how to vote. When your representatives are decid ing which bills to sponsor, they don’t look through Facebook to see which of their constituents “like” postings on gun control. But there is power in physically showing up to share your views. Maybe that’s sign ing up to speak in favor or opposition of a rezoning application at your city council meeting. Maybe that’s introducing yourself to your state representative and asking them for an update. Whatever form it takes, there’s power in your physical presence. Not only does it show commitment and make politics per sonal, but it’s hard for someone to ignore you when you’re speaking face-to-face. Our involvement in politics shouldn’t be limited to electing officials that will be involved in politics for us. Communities should be involved in their local politics. Americans should be involved in national politics. The decisions made by local, state and national politicians do affect us in both large and small ways. And how those deci sions affect us cannot always be controlled by elections. It takes action far past the elections to ensure a responsible govern ment. Alex Pace is a reporter for the Barrow Journal. You can reach her at apace@bar- rowiournal.com. CUffTCOH-ZCWt
