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4A ♦ 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. HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS We encourage readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. All letters printed in The Daily Journal will appear with the writer’s name and hometown - we do not publish anonymous letters. The news paper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity. Letter writers are asked to submit no more than one letter per person per week. We cannot guarantee that a letter will be printed on a specific date. The Daily Journal prefers that letters be typed. Letters to the editor are published in the order they are received as space permits. There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to The 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. v I i 1 /' ' j p't./rri.i- i. .. . . ' ' 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.