Newspaper Page Text
4A
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
Mcrustcrtt JDailg .IJourttal
OPINION
' Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
ESPN tries to outperform the
Saints
Congratulations to New Orleans. They
are on the way back.
It was good to see the reopening
of the Superdome. It was great seeing the
Saints come marching in. It wasn’t so great
seeing them march all over the Falcons - but
that’s another story altogether - but it was
great to see the spirit, the soul of that great
city return.
Now having said that, it was not so great
seeing/hearing ESPN turn the night, Monday
Night Football, into a lesson on Katrina.
Here’s a newsflash: Whenever a sentence
continues to
start with “I,”
as in “I had a
chance to take
a ride down the
hurricane-rav
aged streets
...” or “I think
they should
do this,” or
“I think they
should do that,” it’s no longer about the
issue. At that point, it’s little about what’s
really going on and a whole lot about: “Look
at me.”
And that was apparently part of ESPN’s
agenda. It spent just as much time talking
about Katrina - special guests, special seg
ments, et cetera - as it did the game.
Here’s another newsflash: We know.
We know about Katrina. We feel awful
about what happened, terrible. We wouldn’t
have wished it on anyone, ever.
But the point is we, the citizens, are not
responsible for what didn’t happen. We didn’t
fail New Orleans, the government did.
We stood ready then and we stand ready
now to do what every good neighbor has
done for generations: to help.
But ESPN and the rest of the national
media continue to ram it down our throats
in a way as if to say it was our fault to begin
with. And yet we don’t hear or read about
any of them parked on the courthouses or
the city halls or anywhere holding politi
cians to task for the work still needing to be
done.
Further, did ESPN go the extra mile? Did
it offer a 1-800 number where we could still
help? Did it offer up any of its revenue from
those Bud Light commercials to help out?
Did it provide any additional avenues where
we could get involved?
No, but it sure did try to heap on the guilt.
(Spike Lee versus George H. Bush, who was
also in attendance, as a guest in the press
box was a dead giveaway they were more
interested in promoting controversy than
production.)
Given the circumstances, there’s no way
they could have not talked about Katrina.
But, there’s “talking about it”, addressing it,
and then there’s “sensationalizing” it.
When you bring up no less than twice dur
ing your broadcast about how the athletes
had had to go on the road for 23 straight
games and then drone on and on about how
bad that was, when all the while know
ing these are multi-million dollar athletes
in a multi-billion dollar sports world who
wouldn’t know how to spell Motel 6 let alone
stay in one, you might be sensationalizing.
In case you didn’t know ESPN, the Saints
won last night.
For New Orleans - for today at least - that
was all the world needed to hear.
Worth Repeating
“A disaster like a hurricane is like a football game. You
are going to lose the first quarter. There is no way you
will win that quarter. The question is how ugly you will
lose that quarter. Then you go into the second quarter
- the search and rescue.”
%
Russel Honors,
Army General
Joint Task Force Katrina Commander
But the point is we,
the citizens, ape not
responsible for what
didn't happen. We didn't
fail New Orleans, the
government did.
Nothing helpful in statement about marriage
Let’s face it, celebrities often get
more ink than they deserve. That’s
probably attributable to our peeping
Tom society that obsesses over every
move made by the so-called rich and
famous.
Personally, I think it might be con
structive to our national well-being if
we recaptured the idea of infamous.
Seriously, if we’re honest about it we
realize that we often bestow the label
of “famous” on some who probably
merit the label “infamous.”
“Famous” ought to be reserved for
people who are heroic or who have
achieved something great; people like
Mother Teresa, the passengers on
United Flight 93, accomplished artists,
authors and musicians. “Infamous”
could be used for those whose recogni
tion is largely due to self-promotion
or even some dastardly deed of some
kind.
But enough of that. I have a point
to make.
One highly recognizable person - a
celebrity - made headlines a couple of
weeks ago when he stated, “Angie and
I will consider tying the knot when
everyone else in the country who wants
to be married is legally able.”
Okay, you know who I’m talking
about. It’s Brad Pitt.
Now, normally I try to avoid sin
gling out specific individuals for pub
lic criticism. My reason for doing so
simply stems from my understanding
of what it means to be human. And
being human, for each of us, involves
moments of folly and heroism, sin and
redemption and many other incidents
that both shape and characterize our
lives. In short, each of us is likely able
to speak about meaningful success as
well as our occasional or frequent need
to receive grace and forgiveness.
But this doesn’t mean we cannot
raise some questions, point out incon
sistencies or sound the alarm on philos
ophies that would be highly destructive
if taken to their logical conclusion. So
we can’t ignore Mr. Pitt’s statement,
which got a fair amount of attention
but not much criticism.
At first glance, Mr. Pitt’s statement
may seem high minded and perhaps
sacrificial. Perhaps some even see it
as heroic. But a deeper look at what
is both said and unsaid pushes one to
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Making peace with fuel prices, shiny Cadillacs
O’Reilly called.
“Fill ‘er up, muckraker.”
“Hello, Don. Fill ‘er up? You
calling from one of the Twins or have
the Eldorados been on blocks since gas
went over 2 bucks?”
“That’s rich coming from a guy
whose vehicle looks like a Trailways
concept bus.”
“Let’s talk mileage, Don. Your Caddy
convertibles and my white whale.”
“Who cares, ink blot? I’m saving 80
cents a gallon.”
“How?”
“Buying the stuff, that’s how. Six
weeks ago, the Twins were gathering
dust in the storage unit. Saturday, Mrs.
O’Reilly and I went for a drive. Did it
again Sunday. And we did it 80 cents a
gallon cheaper than we could have in
August.”
“But you still paid about $2.20, didn’t
you? That’s $2 more than you paid
when you bought the Twins.”
“Who are you, A 1 Gore? Well, here’s
an inconvenient tnith for you, Bunky:
I saved enough to buy Mrs. O’Reilly an
ice cream.”
“Just trying to throw a little perspec
tive into the mix.”
“Perspective? How about ancient
history?”
“So what happened?”
“They were out of pistachio.”
“Not the ice cream, O’Reilly. The gas
prices.”
“Dunno. Don’t care.”
“Come on. You, O’Reilly? You don’t
care about high gas prices?”
“Banged my head against that wall
OPINION
conclude otherwise.
What i# unsaid, but should be obvi
ous, is that Mr. Pitt hasn’t exactly
exhibited some sort of profound com
mitment to the institution of marriage.
This is, after all, someone who left the
woman he was married to in order to
live with a woman he refuses to marry
but with whom he has a child. That’s
not the picture of the kind of commit
ment that marriage needs to survive
and, more to the point, flourish.
Put another way, Mr. Pitt doesn’t
appear to be sacrificing anything.
Sacrifice requires giving up something
that you value for the sake of another;
it might involve giving up some of
your own desires and independence
for the one to whom you say you are
committed. Real sacrifice is a common
component in the decision to many.
Mr. Pitt’s actions would indicate that
he does not value marriage so there is
no sacrifice.
Now, before anyone gets too bent out
of shape, we must honestly say that
marriage is more than a mere sacrifice
where nothing is gained. At its best,
marriage is a reward in and of itself
- a relationship full of profound under
standing, knowing glances, breathtak
ing intimacy and the shared and trea
sured scars of hardships endured. So,
no, it’s not just about sacrifice. It’s
about reward.
But Mr. Pitt - or at least some
of the reports we’ve read or heard
- would have us believe that his was
an enlightened statement that should
elicit affirming nods. But does he
really mean “until eveiyone can marry
who wants to marry”? That’s a broad
statement that renders the word “mar
riage” utterly meaningless. Everyone?
Does he mean couples? Same-sex cou
ples? Threesomes? What about father
and daughter? Some clarification is in
order.
"... Just checking to see if I'm on it!"
George
Columnist A.
Morris News Service
too long. All I got was a headache
and credit apps from BR Chevron and
Conoco.”
“Can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, huh?”
“Something like that.”
“Aren’t you just a little curious?”
“Nah, I figure they got a fistful of
short hairs in the right hand and a wad
of cash in the left. I’m content to drive
at $2.20 and put the Twins on blocks at
$3. Why, you know something?”
“Yeah. I know that I don’t know any
thing. To the layman with only a pass
ing knowledge of supply and demand,
it makes no sense. BP’s pipeline falls
apart and they shut it down - that’s
about 8 percent of the market. You’d
think prices would go through the
roof. I even wrote about it. Nothing,
a hiccup, maybe a couple pennies per
gallon.”
“So what? They can do what they
want.”
“But that’s about the time numbers
started falling. And now we’re parked
near a neighborhood where the first
number on the price sign is a one.”
“That all you got, Sluggo? I have
some cheap driving to do.”
“But let some OPEC engineer get a
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Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
And if he does not mean to include
all of those possibilities, I’d kind of like
to know why not. Such an explana
tion would help clarify how he views
marriage - i.e. who he would include
and exclude - and might prompt us
to think more clearly about what we
believe marriage to be.
Today, there’s plenty of evidence that
suggests that marriage is commonly
viewed as a vehicle by which adults
fulfill their desires, and that’s about
it. But anthropologists give us what
could be termed a “majority report”
from history: the reason marriage has
been set aside as special by every cul
ture in human history is because of its
relationship to the next generation.
Simply put, societies have recognized
that bringing the sexes together for
the purpose of producing and rearing
children significantly contributes to
the common good, and a failure to do
so results in harm.
Now, again, that’s not all marriage is,
but that is why societies have bestowed
upon the male and female union a
special status. Reducing marriage to
a mere form of self expression and a
package of benefits does marriage, chil
dren and society a great disservice.
Mr. Pitt and Angelina Jolie have
done some very good things. They’ve
promoted much needed aid to suffering
people in Africa. They’ve heroically
adopted and cared for needy children
- something that is very close to my
heart - and they’ve encouraged oth
ers to do likewise. It’s easy for me to
wholeheartedly applaud them for those
efforts.
But not for this. I can’t help but
feel that Mr. Pitt’s statements further
diminish the meaning and importance
of marriage - for himself and Ms.
Jolie, their children and the broader
culture.
Georgia Family Council is a non-prof
it organization that works to strength
en and defend the family in Georgia
by impacting communities, shaping
laws and influencing culture. For more
information, go to www.georgiafamily.
org, 770-242-0001 and gregg@gafam.
org
little indigestion or a fuel speculator
an itch and dimes and quarters fall out
of the sky overnight and attach them
selves to pump prices.”
“Yeah, go figure.”
“So this is it. You’ve given up. The
indignation and outrage are gone. The
‘man’ has won. No more swimming
upstream. No more political activism.
No more finger pointing at the Bush
administration.”
“Junior has other problems. Besides,
driving the Twins can change your per
spective.” “How’s that?”
“I hated it when $3 a gallon was the
price of doing business. Supply and
demand? Get real, Chief. There are
more variables in oil prices than an
algebra book. When it went to 3 bucks
after Katrina and then big profits fol
lowed, I figured I was pumping regular
unleaded in a parallel universe. I made
peace with it.”
“Peace? I’m impressed - and a little
shocked.”
“Yeah, I made peace E oh, I forget E
and my Segway got recalled, too.”
“Tough break.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So why’d ya call?”
“Just killing time, waiting for Mrs.
O’Reilly to bring me some gas.”
“Gas? You ran out?”
“Yeah. I only put 2 gallons in each of
the Twins. What’d you expect? A full
tank?”
“No, not really. Keep in touch, Don.”
George Ayoub is senior writer at The
Grand Island (Neb.) Independent. His
e-mail is george.ayoub@morris.com.