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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 , jw *fh t y J\ tj ./DEMOCRATS f- ■■ •> /T 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 mmmmmmmmmmmrnM la 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.