Newspaper Page Text
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♦ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22,2006
Mansion Daily; .^Journal
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Audrey Evans
Vice President Vice President
Group Marketing Marketing!Advertising
Don Moncrief Eoy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Gangs reflect family failures
Perry City Council just approved a
request from Public Safety Director
George Potter to add the full-time
position of gang investigator to the police
force.
In a compelling presentation, Potter point
ed out which young people are most likely to
be successfully recruited into gang activity.
They are from single parent households
at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale,
he explained. They are young people hun
gry for social acceptance, young people who
don’t have positive role models and are hav
ing difficulty at school. Some have already
dropped out of
school.
For these
young peo
ple, and the
recruitment
begins at a
very young
age, the appeal
of gangs is
that gangs
offer a sense
of being part
of a group, of
being accept
ed, of having
rules - how
ever criminal
those rules
may be - and
having lead
ership. In an
ironic way, a gang offers what some families
don’t.
Let us not be too quick to write this off to
“broken homes.” Whatever the statistics
show, we all know many examples of single
mothers who have brought up outstand
ing and law abiding sons and daughters,
just as we all know that in this country
countless generations have escaped poverty
and reached for opportunity. Some families
didn’t make it for one generation or two,
but they kept their eyes on the prize.
So let’s not lay the blame on single moms
or on income.
The real problem today seems to be
parents - both fathers and mothers - who
simply aren’t on the job, who are not adults
themselves and are not passing good val
ues or any notion of a work ethic on to
their children. These are parents who don’t
know where their children are, who hated
school themselves and are passing on that
attitude, who consider law enforcement the
enemy, who don’t teach their children to
respect those who are trying to guide them
to adulthood. Nor are these children learn
ing to respect the rights of others.
It’s an old saw that if you don’t learn to
manage yourself, somebody else will man
age you. Despite much talk of “giving chil
dren self esteem” we believe that the real
role of parents is to teach their children the
self-management skills, the self-control and
discipline necessary to achieve good things.
At this holiday season, we want to thank
all the people from the recreation depart
ments, the schools, the law enforcement
agencies, the social services, civic clubs and
mentoring programs who are constantly
filling in the gaps and trying to do the job
that negligent parents have failed to do.
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Houston Daily Journal at P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069, or
drop it off at 1210 Washington St. in Perry - between 8 a.m.
and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For these young
people, and the
recruitment begins at
a very young age, the
appeal of gangs is that
gangs offer a sense of
being part of a group,
of being accepted, of
having rules - however
criminal those rules
may be - and having
leadership. In an ironic
way, a gang offers what
some families don't.
The Words of Christmas 2006
Luke 2: 1 thru 20. Baby Jesus.
Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad.
Santa Claus. Seasons Greetings.
Holidays. Happy Holidays. Mistletoe.
Jingle Bells. Cards. Holy Night.
Bethlehem. Gifts. Sales. Silver Bells.
Joy. Peace. Hope. Elves. Reindeer.
Rudolph. The Grinch. Naughty. Nice.
Manger. Angels. Wise Men. Stars.
Star In The East. Egg Nog. Snow.
Snowman. Sleigh. Christmas Tree.
The Nutcracker. Nuts. Christmas Eve.
Sparklers. Wassail. Fruit Cake. Santa’s
Workshop. Mrs. Claus. Cookies. Parties.
Christmas Cards. Poinsettias. Garland.
Bows. Carols. White Christmas. Macy’s.
Wal-Mart. Profits. Window Shopping.
Sled. Ice Skating. Toys. Mail. Candy.
Canes. Oranges. Ambrosia. Apples.
Tricycles. Wagons. Dolls. Secrets.
Surprises. Fudge. Divinity. Doves.
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Looking for Baby Jesus, and finding him
I was digging through some of my
old teaching supplies to get out the
nativity bulletin board set I had
used back then. I wanted to use it in
our home school room this month, but
there was a problem.
As I pulled out the individual pieces,
I found Mary and the angel. I found
Joseph and the sheep with their shep
herds. There were the wise men with
their gifts, and I even pulled out the
star. But, try as I might, I couldn’t
find Baby Jesus. I remembered exactly
what the artist’s rendition looked like,
even the size of the laminated piece of
poster board.
I searched and searched through the
various other laminated pieces, but
Baby Jesus was nowhere to be found.
I began to wonder if this was a meta
phor for Christmas this year. Was I
going through the motions of the holi
day season, yet not finding the Baby
Jesus anywhere in the mix?
I first thought of our Christmas tree.
Yes, it’s a long-standing tradition in
our family, and one that has nothing
to do with the birth of a King. Yet as I
Dear Jack, we don't care your problems
I’m not quite sure what Jack
Kingston was trying to achieve,
but if it was to give the rest of us
a serious case of eye-roll, then mission
accomplished.
Kingston is an eight-term Republican
congressman from Georgia’s Ist
District, an area extending south from
Savannah and Brunswick to the Florida
border and northwest to Warner
Robins. He is also not very happy with
his world right now. Kingston has been
publicly complaining about the new
Democratic majority in the House man
dating a five-day workweek, instead of
the current three. For one thing, he
thinks a five-day week will mean that
“marriages suffer.” Oh, please.
He says members of Congress work
hard, and for most of them it is a
60-hour, six-day workweek. A lot of
that time, Kingston says, is spent
back home “listening and learning.”
He talked about all the meetings he
held in his district and the number of
speeches he made. Spending more time
in Washington, he says, means “mem
bers of Congress are less in touch with
those they represent.” He may be right
as rain, but, Jack, guess what? We the
People really don’t care. That’s your
problem. You go work it out with your
colleagues in the Congress. You won’t
be getting a lot of sympathy from us,
because being sympathetic to politi
cians is like being told to kiss a frog
it ain’t gonna happen.
My daddy used to tell me that there
were two things you should never try
to convince people of: One, that you
feel worse than they do, and, two, that
OPINION
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
Ornaments. Bells. Tinsel. Wrapping.
Wrapping Paper. Scotch Tape. Parades.
Xmas. Cantatas. Candles. Candle Light
Services. Choirs. Gold. Frankincense.
Myrrh. Three Kings. Shepherds.
Joseph. Mary. Radio City Music Hall.
Nativity. Peppermints. Mass. Joyful
Noise. Drawing Names. Office Parties.
Families. Winter Wonder Land. Toasts.
Decorations. Pine Branches. Chimes.
looked at the ornaments hanging in a
varied array from the branches, I was
reminded of the people who love my
family and me. Most of our ornaments
are gifts given lovingly through the
years. And because “We love because
He first loved us” I thought, “Yes, He’s
there.”
Then I thought about all of the lights
and decorations my children and I love
to see all throughout the landscape.
Is every decked out hall and home
done so to bring glory to the Lord? I’m
sure not. But God is the creator of all
things, including beauty, and Jesus is
the light of the world. What a beautiful
reminder. I miss the lights once they’re
gone after Christmas.
v .tf* i
Yarbrough
you work harder than they do.
The only way Kingston’s comments
could have been less well received
would have been for him to say that
not only is his job harder than yours,
but his sinuses hurt a whole lot worse
than yours ever did.
The reaction to his pity-poor-me
plaints could have been predicted by
Sheila the Family Wonderdog. One
disgusted reader opined that, “Jack
Kingston needed a crane operator to
remove his foot from his mouth, but
crane operators work long hours and
were too offended by his whining to
help him out.” Zing!
Another said, “Kingston should ask
one of his constituents what they think
about his salary, schedule and health
care plan and see if that gets him any
sympathy.”
One perceptive reader asked, “If
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston is so con
cerned about having enough time to
spend with his family, then why has
he appeared multiple times on ‘Real
Time with Bill Maher,’ which is taped
on Friday nights in California?” An
excellent question, to which I would
add Of what benefit is it to his con-
V
JR
v lijli
Sherri
Martin
Columnist
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Chipmunks. Stockings. Chimneys.
Sadness. Credit Cards. Pound Cakes.
Pounds. Bonuses. Advent. Wreaths.
Cakes. Pies. Exchanging Gifts. Gift
Certificates. Trains. Bicycles. Kris
Kringle. Stocking Caps. Mittens.
Scarves. Cold. Coal. Needy. Secret
Pals. Church. St. Nick. Red. Green.
Berries. Friends. Chestnuts. Silent
Night. Barbie. TMX Elmo. Surprises.
Disappointments. Depression. Money.
Shopping. Shop Lifting. Tree Stands.
New York. North Pole. Salvation Army.
Memories. Grandma’s House. Matthew.
Birth. Electricity. Strings of Lights.
Switches. Lists. Roof Tops. Glisten.
Children. Sugar Plums. Traditions.
Cranberries. Holly. Snowflakes. Bible.
Teddy Bears. Jack In The Box. Boxes.
Fireplaces. Ho Ho Ho. Rockefeller Plaza.
Stress. Savior. Jesus. Hallelujah!
I also began to look for Baby Jesus
in the flurry of activity required to get
two musicals ready at church, a chil
dren’s musical and an adult musical.
Was I just going through the motions
of learning the songs and practicing
the drama? I knew the answer even
before I voiced the question in my
mind. The musicals are an important
part of Christmas to me each year. The
songs fill my heart and mind, allowing
me to worship as I learn them. And
they give me an opportunity to share
God’s perfect gift with others. So, yes,
Jesus is there also. The truth became
evident to me through my searching.
I don’t have to go looking for Baby
Jesus. Because He’s not still “asleep on
the hay,” He’s alive in my life.
And in the midst of all these ponder
ings in my heart, I received the best
Christmas gift. My older son decided
that Jesus is his Savior also. He will
be baptized on Christmas Eve. Or
“bab-i-tized” as he said when he was
younger.
No, I don’t have to look for Baby
Jesus. He’s been here all along.
stituents that he hobnob with a liberal
weenie like Bill Maher, who referred to
the 9-11 terrorists as “heroes”? He’d
be a lot better off if he associated with
common folks like Jeff Foxworthy and
Ron “Tater Salad” White or even Larry
the Cable Guy. Then we might be more
sympathetic to his long workweek.
Jack Kingston was not marched to
Washington at the point of a gun and
forced to be a congressman. He went
up there of his own free will and
because the voters of the Ist District
sent him there to represent them to
the best of his ability regardless of
the circumstances. If he feels that the
job is too hard, then quit and go make a
bundle as a lobbyist or learn to operate
a crane. I know most of the members
of the Georgia delegation personally
Republican and Democrat and
they are decent people trying to do a
good job for us and under the same
conditions as Kingston. His complain
ing doesn’t help them either. We can
all name a bunch of people who make
a lot less money, have a lot fewer perks
and a crummier retirement plan than
members of Congress.
So, Jack, suck it up, and let’s hear
no more whining from you. Besides,
things could be worse. You could be
writing a column week after week, try
ing to deal with pesky editors telling
me where I should stick my commas
and with a gimpy knee to boot. Now,
that’s a real problem!
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
Yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or
Web site: wwwjiickyarbrough.com.