Page 4A
The Braselton News
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Opinion
What is ‘progress?’
I’ve been thinking a lot lately
about progress.
What is progress?
How do we measure
in real terms some
thing as abstract as
“progress?"
This comes in part
due to the ongoing
lure of the electric
vehicle industry to
the state. Over the
past few years, Geor
gia has garnered a
lot of attention from
companies building
electric vehicle man
ufacturing facilities in the state,
including the South Korean
SK Battery plant in Jackson
County.
That plant will employ over
2,500 people when it's at full
operation, but that's small
compared to Hyundai’s 8,100
jobs coming to its EV plant in
Bryan County. SK and Hyun
dai are also jointly building a
massive EV battery plant in
Bartow County.
All of that is undoubtedly a
kind of progress for the state.
Long mired in poverty and
racism and the lingering ef
fects from the Civil War, Geor
gia has emerged over the last
50 years as a manufacturing
powerhouse, luring new invest
ments for all kinds of product
manufacturing.
But what is the cost of all
this “progress?"
•••
There are a lot of people
who dissent against what our
society considers to be prog
ress. Among the leading voices
that question modem “prog
ress" is poet, essayist and en
vironmentalist Wendell Berry,
who writes on these themes
from his farm in Kentucky.
Says Berry in one poem:
I saw the forest reduced to
stumps and gullies;
I saw the poi
soned river-the
mountain cast into
the valley;
I came to the city
that nobody rec
ognized because it
looked like every
other city
Berry is some
thing of an icono
clast on progress.
He writes on a type
writer and eschews
using a computer
and he plows his farm with a
mule rather than a tractor or
other equipment.
While he may be a little ec
centric, he speaks for a lot of
people who question the long
term implications of what we
consider to be progress. We see
that in local government zon
ing meetings where citizens of
ten oppose development due to
its likely impact on the native
flora and fauna (among other
things like traffic, impact on
schools, etc.)
Much of this was bom in
the 1960s when the early roots
of environments were estab
lished. That was in part due to
the counter-culture ideology
of that era and to doomsday
predictions in the 1968 book,
“The Population Bomb.” That
book created a lot of fear about
human consumption of limit
ed resources on earth. The gas
shortage of the early 1970s
echoed that theme long before
EV cars came into vogue.
The era was also one when
the back-to-the-land move
ment started, as reflected in the
popular magazine of the time,
Mother Earth News.
While that movement has
waxed and waned over the
years, it remains alive today
with farmer-celebrities such as
Joel Salatin, a self-described
“Christian libertarian envi
ronmentalist capitalist lunatic
farmer.’’
Salatin has written a number
of books and produced videos
and given lectures on creative
ways for small farmers and
homesteaders to improve their
operations.
While Salatin is something
of a back-to-the-land rock star,
there are dozens, hundreds,
maybe thousands of books,
videos, podcasts, social media
links and websites that cater
to the eco-land movement:
Homesteaders of America and
Bootstrap Farmer come to
mind.
All of this generally flies un
der the radar of most people.
The cadre of small-scale envi
ronmentalists is limited and of
ten isolated. The larger public
mostly reacts to big environ
mental controversies, such as
mining around environmental
ly sensitive areas.
•••
The largest environmental
issue today is, of course, cli
mate change. Due to a number
of factors, some manmade, the
earth is warming up. There's
little doubt that this is happen
ing; all you have to do is look
at a photo of a glacier 50 years
ago and compare it to today.
Still, the issue of climate
change has become politically
polarizing and often divides
along generation lines. Older
Americans tend to scoff at the
hype of climate change activ
ists while the issue is largely
embraced by the younger gen
erations. That’s not always the
case, but there does appear to
be a rather sharp divide on the
issue.
Even when there is some
degree of agreement on what’s
happening, the solutions tend
to be vague and often limited.
Take the EV movement that
is affecting Georgia. While
electric vehicles would gener
ate less greenhouse gases than
traditional fossil fuel, the elec
tricity needed to recharge EV
batteries does have an environ
mental cost (coal-fired plants,
hydro power, natural gas and
even nuclear power plants all
have environmental downsides
and costs.) In addition, we’ve
not yet solved the problem of
how to dispose (or recycle) all
those EV batteries at the end of
their life, another environmen
tal issue.
So the “progress" of electric
vehicles may be only in one
sphere; the larger impact envi
ronmentally has yet to be fully
understood.
•••
There's no doubt that while
some question “progress,"
there have been a lot of positive
things that modem society and
its progress has brought us.
While “big pharma" is of
ten cited as a boogyman by
the anti-vaxx crowd, modem
pharmaceuticals gave us anti
biotics, cancer treatments, vac
cines and other things that have
saved millions of lives and
eased the suffering of many.
Ditto for “big medicine."
In the economic sphere,
modem computers have rev
olutionized the workplace,
increasing productivity, allow
ing some people to work from
home and created new catego
ries of products.
In transportation, progress
has made our cars safer and
less polluting. Air travel has
opened up the world to people
who a generation or two ago
couldn’t imagine seeing so
much of the world.
In general, “progress” has
raised the standards of living
for millions of people.
•••
But “progress" isn’t without
costs.
Modem progress has in
creased the complexity of our
daily lives in ways that we’ve
yet to fully understand. One
aspect of this increased com
plexity is the need for addi
tional referees in our social-po
litical-economic construct;
in general, that leads to more
government intervention in our
daily lives in an attempt to cre
ate a more level playing field.
Modem progress has also
created huge amounts of cen
tralization in our economy.
Agriculture, once a small farm
enterprise, is now largely in
dustrialized. That keeps food
prices low for consumers, but
it also creates environmental
hazards and has led to genetic
modifications of our foods that
concern many people.
That centralization is also
evident in our shopping. Once
a nation of small mom-and-
pop stores, we’re now a nation
of large stores and chain restau
rants that control the market
place and that have squeezed
out those mom-and-pop busi
nesses. While the Walmarts
and Krogers and Amazons of
the world may have brought us
more choices, they have also
devastated the social capital
that had been created and sup
ported by independent busi
nesses in local communities.
Even computers that have
brought about so much eco
nomic benefits have down
sides. They have created a
pipeline of misinformation and
have become a tool for crimi
nal activity, from kiddie pom to
electronic thefts.
•••
I guess my biggest gripe
about “progress" is the ho
mogenization of the Ameri
can landscape. We’ve become
a nation made up largely of
cookie-cutter suburbs. No mat
ter where you travel, there are
the same stores, same restau
rants, and the same “look" in
community after community.
Is there anywhere in America
that doesn’t have a Starbucks
within a mile or two?
The uniqueness of our in
dividual communities is be
ing washed away in this tide
of sameness. Our homes and
neighborhoods have become
products of national builders
who chum out the same floor
plans and exteriors from coast
to coast. Our shopping centers
are ubiquitous. It’s all a little
disorienting.
It isn’t that American eco
nomic and cultural hegemony
is necessarily bad in and of it
self, but it does change the way
we perceive the world and the
way we think about our own
lives.
So is progress a good or bad
thing?
It is neither, and yet it is both.
A rising tide may float all
boats, but it can also wipe out
the shoreline and its reference
points used for guidance, and it
can bury dangers just beneath
the surface where they can rip
the boats of those who for
get they were there in the first
place.
Mike Buffington is co-pub
lisher of Mainstreet Newspa
pers. He can be reached at
mike @mainstreetnews. com.
Dick Ferguson
Down on the farm, yes
teryear, there were
no button-down
shirts existing for
the country boys
I knew. When I
learned about but
ton-downs, little did
I know that the style
originated with
polo players in the
1800’s.
Seems that the
shirt collars of the
polo aficionados in
England were al
ways flapping in the wind and
bringing about frustrating dis
traction. Hence, button down
shirts. John Brooks, of the
fine clothier, Brooks Brothers,
took a liking to the style and
popularized it in the U.S.
I thought that button down
shirts originated with Dick
Ferguson’s Men’s Store on
Clayton Street in Athens. That
is where I was introduced to
the style in my days on cam
pus.
Ferguson’s was
the place to shop
for many college
males, especially if
you wanted a red
and black diagonally
striped tie, the un
official tie of UGA.
When you became
a senior and could
enjoy a walk in the
senior parade at half
time of the home
coming game, you
found your way to Ferguson’s
and purchased a planter's style
hat and a short walking cane.
For decades the friendly, smil
ing son of the founder of the
popular Athens men’s store
would be there to wait on you.
Dick was four years old
when his father died, and he
began helping his ebullient
mother, Mary, run the store
as soon as he learned to make
change and master a tape mea
sure. His mother, in addition
to running the store, played
the piano for the Athens Ro
tary Club.
The pleasant sounds from
the lively chords she played
were sorely needed for a
group of men who “couldn’t
carry a tune in a bucket” but
doing their best with award
winning lyrics such as: “R O
T A R Y, that spells Rotary."
I can remember the first
button down shirt I bought
at Dick Ferguson’s. I was so
excited that I wanted to wear
it every day. Sleeping in it, I
thought, would be a good idea.
As time elapsed, I shopped
at Dick Ferguson’s for all
clothing needs. I wasn’t a
great customer since I didn’t
have a great budget. Later
on, my son, Kent, and Dick’s
youngest son, Ed, became a
friend and fraternity
brother. Ferguson’s has
always been our shopping
home.
When the patriarch passed
away last weekend, there was
an emotional urge to reflect
on Dick’s legacy and his styl
ish clothing store. He made
friends quickly and easily. He
was laid back and low key. In
my mind’s eye, I can see him
propping on one of the count
ers that held an assorted col
lection of button-down shirts
and other dry goods, perhaps
in conversation with one of his
gentlemanly salesmen, Ralph
Almond.
The topic, you could always
bet, was about the Bulldogs.
Dick was imbued with a love
of UGA that was unsur
passed. A classmate was Fran
Tarkenton with whom Dick
developed a rapport when the
famous quarterback was first
flashing brilliance on the foot
ball field at old Athens High.
Chatting up his custom
ers about the “Dogs — Dick
predated Dawgs — was good
for business but it became a
pastime that made you want
to drop in even if you were
not on a shopping spree. He
wasn't about gossip and criti
cism —just a genuine interest
in and an abiding love of his
favorite team which was for
ever the “talk of the town."
Many Georgia athletes
shopped with Ferguson’s. In
the fall when you stopped by
the week of a big game on
campus, it was like “old home
week."
There might be a high
school buddy who connected
with a livelihood at a distant
address, or an SAE brother
from the Dick’s time on cam
pus, dropping by to shop but
also to enjoy the reminiscing
sessions which were a staple
of a visit to Ferguson’s.
I took Dick to play golf
for the first time at the Green
Hills Country Club. Tarkenton
joined us, too — two Athens
legends from two different
walks of life.
With the downtown parking
crunch in the eighties, Dick
moved his store to Beech-
wood shopping center. Later,
he had difficulty standing on
his feet all day and eased into
retirement, but his son Dick
III, and brothers, John and Ed,
worked together to make sure
the store remained in business.
That is a good thing. You
don’t want storied communi
ty institutions to disappear. It
gives those of us who knew
the patriarch a link to the past
and good feelings for the fu
ture with the Dick Ferguson's
legacy continuing. Dick Fer
guson was a devoted ‘Dog for
all seasons.
Loran Smith is a UGA an
nouncer and columnist for
Mainstreet News.
[/•
loran
smith
Ronnie Green’s Gift
A few days ago, I went by
the hospital to visit with a close
friend, whose moth
er was ailing some
thing terrible.
That particu
lar hospital has
grown into quite a
monstrosity since
I was bom there
when it was a small
three-story square
hospital. I cost $96
and still have the
receipt - paid in full
- and the litde iden
tification band from
my tiny wrist.
That was costly to
Mama and Daddy when you
consider the price of their births
in the mountains. Doctors were
a long distance away on a mule
and, with no telephones, they
couldn’t be called.
Both were delivered by self-
taught midwives and paid with
what the folks had. Mama cost
a sack of freshly dug potatoes.
Daddy’s midwife received two
j ars of blackberry j elly.
In hospitals today, naming
rights - for a great deal of mon
ey - are emblazoned across
cancer units, libraries, chapels,
auditoriums and anything that
can be named.
That day, I stopped
at a nurses’ station in
the center of a floor
to ask direction. Five
nurses were busy,
checking charting,
typing into comput
ers and making calls.
I asked for the room
number and as the
nice woman clicked
the keys on her de
vice, I looked over
to the wall and saw
the names of two
men whom I knew
for years before
they died about 10 years apart.
Nice men who had given a lot
to their community and, ap
parently, had been generous to
the hospital. For this particular
story, I will change the name to
prevent any feelings from be
ing hurt.
“George Garrison,” I said,
reading off the name. “Won
derful man. Do you know who
he was?"
The young woman shook her
head. The other staff stopped to
listen. “Do y'all?"
Not one did.
“He made a lot of money
as an attorney then used it to
help others." I then told the sto
ry - because Southerners can
never stop with one remark -
that Tink and I were in Baton
Rouge, LA where he was film
ing a television series when I
read that George had died. Just
all a’sudden. I called the news
paper and asked, “What hap
pened to George Garrison?"
The sweet reporter, who
had written the front-page sto
ry, said shyly, “I don't know.
When I talked to the family, I
didn't want to intrude."
Seriously. But she was genu
inely kind about it.
I called my beauty shop and
asked Sandy, “What happened
to George Garrison?"
“His heart," she replied,
giving a summary of his final
days.
I called the writer back with
my detailed report. “If you
need to know anything else,
call the beauty shop."
Now, I stood at the nurses’
station where they looked at his
name every day but no one had
questioned who he was and
why a wing was named after
him.
Here's another person - real
name - who I hope is never
forgotten. Ronnie Green, an
only child who never married,
worked for his parents’ tiny
grocery story. Short, bald-head
ed and kind, he always wore a
butcher's apron because he
worked the meat counter. He
doubled as the delivery guy
and, many times, I passed the
store as he was taking a wom
an's groceries to the car as he
chatted merrily.
In his early 50s, the much
loved Ronnie succumbed to a
heart attack. In the aftermath of
grief and shock, his parents dis
covered that Ronnie played the
stock market and had amassed
a few million dollars. This was
about 30 years ago.
They donated it to the hospi
tal to build a much-needed car
diac unit. They wanted to spare
others a similar profound loss.
Some of the finest cardiac spe
cialists were engaged. Count
less lives have been saved at
the Ronnie Green Heart Center.
May Ronnie Green never be
forgotten. A butcher who dou
bled as a bag boy is responsible
for thousands of lives saved
and many more made better.
From a simple, humble man
came life-changing moments
for masses. Isn’t that wonder
ful?
Ronda Rich is the best-sell
ing author of What Southern
Women Know (That Every
Woman Should). Visit www.
rondarich.com to sign up foi
lier free newsletter.
The Braselton News
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher & Advertising Manager
Ben Munro Editor
Taylor Hearn Sports Editor
Wesleigh Sagon Photographer/Features
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ronda
rich
