Newspaper Page Text
♦ WEDNESDAY, JANUaRY 17, 2007
4A
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Group Marketing
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Guest Editorial
An 'exciting week'
By Sen. Ross Tolleson
Your elected state officials returned to
the Capitol this week for the pomp and
circumstance of a new legislative ses
sion. Gov. Sonny Perdue was sworn into his
second term, Georgia’s first elected Republican
lieutenant governor, who also serves as the
President of the Senate and Georgia’s other
constitutional officers also took their oaths of
office. My colleagues and I in the Senate and
House also swore to uphold the Constitution
and then we got down to the people’s business.
Mid-week, in Gov. Perdue’s State of the State
address, he outlined some key areas where we
will devote our interest, energy, thought and
time during the 2007 legislative session, includ
ing economic development programs, education
and transportation. These issues are areas of
concern to most of you and they will have far
reaching effects on Georgia’s future.
One of Perdue’s new initiatives is something
that is close to my own heart as the chairman of
the Senate Natural Resources and Environment
Committee. The governor wants to build onto
his Land Conservation Act by putting an addi
tional SSO million to purchase undeveloped land
for protection. The governor’s 2008 budget also
will include a sl9 million investment for some
thing he calls Go Fish Georgia, a program that
will create world-class resources for fishing and
boating enthusiasts. This project will include
building new boating ramps along a bass trail
that will include 15 sites on Georgia’s major
rivers and reservoirs capable of hosting large
bass tournaments.
As we move Georgia forward, there is no more
important issue facing our state today than our
children’s education. High student achievement
equates into tomorrov/’s leaders who are skilled
competitors in a global market. Improving our
system of public education is a lofty goal, yet
it is well worth pursuing for our state and our
country’s future.
One step in achieving this goal is to foster a
quality teaching force of talented, professional
educators. We have some of the best teachers
in the nation and it is important that we keep
them in Georgia and in our classrooms. Perdue
has proposed a three percent pay increase for
our educators. Since many of them also will
receive a step increase on the salary schedule
this means a six percent raise for those people
who have dedicated their lives to giving our
children a quality education.
I was pleased to hear that the governor wants
to add graduation coaches to Georgia’s middle
schools. Perdue noted that while Georgia’s
graduation rate has risen 7.5 percent over the
last four years, there is still much work to do.
High school graduation coaches have identi
fied 42,000 students who are not on track to
graduate. In addition, there are 25,655 over-age
ninth graders, and more than 2,000 students
who dropped out before they made it to 9th
grade. Middle school graduation coaches will
help meet the needs of these students.
Infrastructure improvements also continue
as a top concern of Georgians, with transporta
tion leading the list. The governor has proposed
legislation to exempt material and equipment
used to build bio-fuel facilities from state taxes
to help Georgia become a leader in alterna
tive fuel development. This proposal may gar
ner interest and support in 2007, because it
requires long-range planning that should begin
now if we are to keep Georgia moving in the
21st century.
Numerous other important issues will face
the Georgia General Assembly during the 2007
session and hundreds of pieces of legislation
will be introduced. My role will be one of judi
cious consideration for each bill that crosses my
desk in 2007. Consequently my focus will be on
improving the quality of opportunities as well
as the quality of life for all Georgians.
Call or come visit when you need me . . .
Sen. Ross Tolleson represents the 20th Senate
District and serves as chairman of the Natural
Resources and the Environment Committee.
He may be reached at 404-656-0081 or ross.
tolleson@senate.ga.gov. Sen. Tolleson represents
Bleckley, Dodge, Houston, Johnson, Laurens,
Pulaski, Telfair and Wilcox counties.
Audrey Evans
Vice President
Marketing!Advertising
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
What makes you happy?
They arrived in my in-box a mere
48 hours apart and, ostensi
bly, were unrelated. One told
me about what people thought would
make them happy in the future, the
other about what really is making
them happy today.
Though contradictory in some areas,
the findings are not entirely at odds
with each other. Morp to the point,
the two studies combined to illuminate
mankind’s ongoing struggle to discover
true sources of meaning and happiness
in life and to balance our desire for
economic achievement with our deeply
rooted need for healthy relationships.
I’m talking about the findings of two
surveys conducted by two different
organizations. One was conducted by
Pew Research Center and focused on,
among other things, the social atti
tudes and life goals of 18- to 25-year
olds, the so-call Generation Y. There
are many interesting findings worthy
of discussion - from immigration and
politics to tattoos and body piercing
- but the one that jumped out at me
had to do with “life goals.”
According to this survey, Gen Y’s
top life-goals are to be rich (81%) and
famous (51 percent). An article in USA
Today points out that this is in sharp
contrast to a 1967 survey of college
freshmen in which 85.8 percent indi
cated that it was essential to develop “a
meaningful philosophy of life” and 41.9
percent thought it was important to be
well-off financially.
Hmm. Though I’m quite comfortable
with financial goals and objectives, the
recent findings left me a bit cold when
I read them. Initially, I wasn’t exactly
sure why, but eventually it hit me. The
reason why those answers trouble me
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Rise of machines a good thing for thumb generation
If you have ever begged to talk
to a human being rather than be
pushed, pulled and prompted by a
machine, pay attention..
And be afraid. Be very afraid.
My 13-year-old son, given the choice,
would select the impersonality of a
recording, the electric glow of a Web
site and the paperless trail of an e-mail
confirmation. He doesn’t mind pushing
“3” for a or entering his ZIP
code when an electronically generated
voice compels him to do so.
All things being equal, he prefers a
text message to a real human voice.
Ah,youth!
As we drove to Lincoln recently,
he reminded me that we had never
activated the voice mail (there’s a per
sonal touch for you) on his cell phone,
a birthday gift from last spring. It
has recently become an appendage
attached to his hand, the power of the
text message revealed. He is pleased to
be one of the Opposables, a member of
the Thumb Generation.
I told him I had forgotten the num
ber sequence but that he should call
the company and ask for directions.
“I don’t want to talk to anyone.”
I assured him the phone compa
ny was on the executive committee
of the League of Large, Impersonal
Megacorporations and had no intention
of talking to him either. I have written
several columns about this topic, one
in particular about actually reaching a
human, a less-than-gratifying encoun
ter with a decidedly disagreeable oil
company employee named Debbie.
I further counseled that he need
not worry about Debbie or any other
disagreeables. He could do it all right
on the 1-inch-square keyboard glowing
AMUIAy
UrINIUN
is this: they don’t answer the deeper
questions of purpose: Why do you
want td be rich? For what purpose or
end do you seek wealth? And what’s
the purpose of fame? Are we just talk
ing about wealth for wealth’s sake and
fame for fame’s sake? I mean, both the
late Mother Theresa and Paris Hilton
are famous, but do you consider them
equally successful? Bill Gates and
Hugh Hefner are both wealthy busi
nessmen, but are their contributions to
humanity equal?
I realize that we’re always going to
have people who consider the accu
mulation of material wealth to be the
utmost life priority. But 81% of an
entire age group? That seems really,
really high. Of course, many of these,
as they confront life’s realities and
grow in understanding, will modify
their goals and reset their moral com
pass. Life and age can do that for you.
And that’s where the other survey
comes into play.
Earlier this month, a Gallup poll of
1,010 adults simply asked people to
estimate their levels of happiness. So,
while the Pew research largely dealt
with aspirations and what might be,
the Gallup poll dealt with realities
and what actually seems to make us
happy.
Now, given the subjects I frequently
address in this column, you might
blue on his cell phone.
Dad was wrong - again. Where’s a
good machine when you need one?
After several attempts at the new
fashioned way to activate his voice
mail, my son told me his only alterna
tive was to press 0 and wait for some
body to come on the line, someone
called the next available representa
tive. He balked.
“Go ahead,” I encouraged.
Despite looking at me as though I
had grown a spcond nose, he pushed
the button and waited.
Within seconds, he was talking.
Beginner’s luck. With a little practice,
he’ll be able to be on hold for 30 to 40
minutes. Eavesdropping at 75 mph is
not recommended, but Max held his
own, nodding and “uh-huhing” in the
appropriate spots.
The man on the other end of the line
did disappear for a good five minutes.
While we in the impersonal-phone-call
know understand these long periods of
wait, with or without an actual human
on the other end, my son shrugged it
off, neither nonplussed nor annoyed.
Where’s he getting this behavior?
Before the call ended, however, the
next available representative did ask
four times if there was anything else
Max needed, code among the League of
Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
George
Ayoub
Columnist
Morris News Service
guess that marriage and family have
something to do with happiness. If
that’s what you thought, you’re right.
The Gallup poll demonstrates that
the impulse of Gen Y is not entirely off
base. Higher levels of income can pro
duce higher levels of satisfaction. But,
according to Gallup, analysis of data
from the past three annual “Lifestyle”
polls “shows that marriage may be
more strongly associated with personal
happiness than money.”
Gallup reports, “Those who are mar
ried at any income level are as likely (if
not more likely) to report being happy
than even the wealthiest people who
are not married.”
Here’s compelling evidence that this
is true: 56 percent of married adults
in the lowest income bracket reported
being very happy, compared with 50
percent of unmarried adults in the
highest bracket.
Why is this? Why is it that what
really matters is not wealth and fame,
but healthy and meaningful relation
ships? It’s clear that, while wealth and
fame may be enticing and perhaps even
exhilarating, it’s marriage that really
makes us happy. Intuitively and expe
rientially we know this, even if we have
had a difficult time making our own
mai riages and relationships work.
The fact is we’re made for relation
ship. Or, if you would prefer a less the
istic sounding phrase, we’re wired for
relationship. Now without having the
surveys to prove the following, let me
put forward some theories - based on
observation and social research - about
why things are the way they are.
The reason people go through mul
tiple marriages is because, even if
See HICKS, page fA
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Large, Impersonal Megacorporations
for “let us sell you something.
I suppose I should be more generous.
Most of these behemoths have improved
after the rise of consumer complaints,
do-not-call lists and the potential loss
of revenue slapping them upside their
gigantic heads. Disagreeable Debbies
have been shown the door or trained to
treat us more like humans and less like
account numbers. They can even be
soothing, their voices almost cooing as
they explain your widget bill is about
to experience a three-fold increase.
“Thank you and have a nice day.”
They still butcher the pronunciation
of Ayoub, whether they are collect
ing or selling. Swallowing my name
is a tip-off, so when the phone rings
and someone asks to speak to Mr.
Eyeyeyaoooby, everyone at my house
and a couple of neighbors who may be
visiting have been trained to respond:
“I’m sorry, Mr. Eyeyeyaoooby is pilot
ing Biosphere Eight and will not be
back until 2017.”
Maybe my kid and his Thumber
pals have it right. Although he suc
cessfully navigated the waters of real
humanity, I’m sure if he can, Max will
text his next order with somebody
from the League of Large, Impersonal
Megacorporations.
Maybe, too, the rise of the machines
is not a problem but rather an opportu
nity. Maybe the tape loops, the imper
sonal instructions, the lack of human
contact are best.
At least I wouldn’t have to talk to
Debbie.
“Hello, operator? For the love of God,
I’ve been on this line for 15 minutes.
Can I please speak to a red machine?”