Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016
Moving on after a divisive,
hurtful election
It's no secret to anyone who has read
my columns over the past few months as
to how I am feeling about the results of
our presidential election.
I didn’t support or vote for any
candidate on the ballot because
I could not reconcile my con
science to any of them.
I voted for John Kasich. know
ing he wouldn’t win, but I left
the voting booth with a clear
conscience.
It was a real struggle for me
and it continues to be, and before
any of you say it in the blogs or
in a letter, allow me - I know
that’s my problem.
Some have already told me
this.
And I will admit that I continue to
struggle with all that I have seen and
heard during these last months from
some very surprising sources, and I am
not talking about the candidates. It has
made my heart sore.
Again, my problem.
The clearest thing I can seem to
get from it all is that we need a dras
tic change in our country and those
that voted for him believe that Presi
dent-elect Trump is the only one who
can make these changes.
Others just positively hated Mrs.
Clinton and all she stood for. Period. I
get that too.
Well one thing is for sure, change is
now on the way.
I am hoping for the very best and leav
ing the door open to optimism because
to do anything else would be pointless
and unproductive.
There are so many unknowns right
now and nobody really knows what to
expect in the coming days.
And if you think you do know, well
bless your heart, you are far wiser than
me.
But here’s is what I do know that I am
going to do, and it’s all I have control
over.
I am going to continue to respect the
office of the president, as I always have.
I have never believed it is proper to
disparage the office of the president,
regardless of your personal feelings
about who occupies the office.
If our democracy is to survive, we
have to respect the process. The struc
ture of our government is bigger than
any one person.
I am going to sincerely pray for the
president our country has elected and
I am going to hope that he does a good
job. an excellent job.
And I mean that with all of my heart.
To wish (even secretly) for anything
else is just wrong.
If he does a good job, we will all reap
the benefits and live in relative safety in
this increasingly dangerous world. Our
children will be able to grow up and
continue to reach for their dreams.
We can continue to pur
sue our passions, which for
my husband and I have and
always will include speak
ing up for the voiceless,
the creatures we share this
earth with.
I hope that Mr. Trump
will be president for all the
people he works for now
and work to heal the deep
ly divisive wounds in our
country, and I hope that will
include some reassurances
to those who are afraid, and
there are many that are.
After all, some very tough things have
been said during the campaign. Words
do matter and will matter more now that
he is the leader of the free world.
If you’ve ever felt afraid, you have
also probably realized that there are
people who don’t understand that fear,
and don’t empathize with you at all.
But didn’t you desperately want
someone to reach out to you and at least
try to understand? I know I certainly
have.
Showing humility and grace as he
accepts this high office could go a very
long way to making a new start and set
ting a new tone for us all.
Also, in the effort to make sweep
ing changes, I hope he and those he
surrounds himself with will not forget
the very people who put him there.
They have real and valid concerns that
deserve to be addressed.
Finally, I hope that he will have the
wisdom to know that there is a lot he
doesn’t know - that he has a lot to learn
— and that running a country is not.
after all, just like running a business.
Some of the decisions he and con
gress make can and will affect people’s
lives in profound ways.
And he will have the power of life and
death at his fingertips.
Yes, I will pray for our new president
and I will hope for the very best for us
all.
After all, integrity, honesty. Godli
ness, humility and kindness all begin
with us personally.
It’s an old saying but a true one, you
have to work to be the change you want
to see in the world.
“It is better to light a candle than to
curse the darkness.” — Eleanor Roo
sevelt.
Margie Richards is a reporter and office
manager for the Madison County Journal a
sister publication of the Barrow News-Journal,
both of which are owned by Mainstreet
Newspapers, Inc.
More Veterans Day ceremony photos
‘TAPS’
Paige Winkler sings “Taps” near the end of Friday’s Veterans Day cere
mony, which was hosted by Military Veterans of Georgia at Jug Tavern
Park in Winder. Photos by Jessica Brown
Random Rants in Rhyme
Church music
No other type of music is so varied;
sometimes hurried; sometimes harried;
sometimes indescribably slow;
sometimes too loud; sometimes too low;
sometimes with ear piercing high soprano;
sometimes with low bass, and great tremulo -
it mostly depends on where you go.
It depends more on the congregation
than it does on the denomination.
Education and training play their roles,
as does passion for the saving of souls.
Cultural differences are bound to affect
the sound of church music, but not its effect.
Church music’s main purpose is to worship and praise
our God with the hymns and anthems we raise.
Another purpose is encouragement
of Christians for strength in the journey where we’re sent.
Teaching of Christians and winning souls for Christ
and other purposes are all on the list.
It should not be designed just to entertain,
but to make God’s message much more plain.
All types of church music have their own place
as long as they extol His mercy and grace..
His word says to praise Him with cymbals that are loud:
it also says, Be still, and know I am God.
While you are singing loud praise to your God,
be careful, little lips, of the path being trod.
Do you really mean it when you render,
All to Jesus I surrender?
It was hard to believe when this writer read
two lines from a “gospel song” that said,
“Ain’t it a shame to gossip on Sunday...
... when you got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...”
Think about words before you sing them,
and refrain from singing if you do not believe them.
Remember, not all “gospel music” is inspired,
and, someday, your every word will be required.
Music is a wonderful tool for worship.
Take care it’s not the music that you worship.
© 2016, cbs
Letters to the Editor-
Red light needed at Auburn-County
Line Road, Mulberry Road
Dear Editor:
For concerned citizens and people who
travel Highway 211 North to Interstate
85. We need a red light at Auburn-County
Line Road - Mulberry Road.
We have accidents here all the time.
We live off Auburn-County Line Road
and my husband was involved in an acci
dent there a few weeks ago. Two cars had
an accident there and he ran upon it and
hit them.
Something needs to be done about this
- call Rep. Terry England, Sen. Frank
Ginn. Barrow County Commissioners and
Barrow County Manager.
Sincerely,
Joyce Hendrix
Winder
Reconsider publishing
anonymous ads
Dear Editor:
The “VOTE” ad in your
paper on November 2,2016
which was “Paid for by
Democrat Party supporter”
caught my attention. The
supporter’s views obvi
ously do not match the
overwhelming majority of
Barrow County voters, as
seen in the results from the
November 8 General Elec
tion.
Isn’t it unfair for the
“Democrat” identity to be
concealed from the public?
One who does not want
his or her name attached
to their beliefs, in such a
public forum as your paper,
is no different than folks
who spew their venom
on-line with carefully craft
ed aliases. Doesn’t such
secrecy indicate a lack of paper?
character? The “Dem
ocrat” could have been
George Soros or ISIS for
all we know.
Every local Republican
Party ad published by your
paper has our Chairman’s
name (and usually our
Treasurer’s name as well).
There is no doubt who pays
for our ads, and we are
not afraid to put our names
(and group) on the line.
Doesn’t the public have a
right to know what individ
ual or group has paid for
political advertising in your
While it may be legally
permissible for you to pub
lish such an anonymous ad,
I would request respectfully
that you reconsider your
policy for future political
ads. Anyone, known to you
but not to the public, can
take their shots against oth
ers, fairly or unfairly, under
the cloak of secrecy in your
paper. Isn’t there some
thing wrong with that?
Sincerely.
Ken Young, chairman
Barrow County Republi
can Party
REMINDER OF THOSE LOST
The “Missing Man” table was on display during
Friday’s Veterans Day ceremony at Jug Tavern
Park in Winder.
HUGE MOVING SALE
750 Michael Drive, Winder, GA
Oak Haven Subdivision below
County Line Elementary School,
off Rockwell Church Road.
Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.;
Saturday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and
Sunday 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Lots of furniture: over 1,000 teacher and chil
dren’s books; ART TEACHERS DREAM: hun
dreds of bottles of paint sets; several boxes of art
supplies; CRAFT MAKING SUPPLIES; NEW
PROJECTOR WITH ALL ACCESSORIES;
original Disney Mickey and Minnie Mouse col
lectibles; several Lennox ice castle collectibles;
ORIGINAL SILVER CROSS PRAM-BABY
STROLLER; patio set; pictures; mirrors, gor
geous executive desk and credenza, purchased at
Sanders Furniture; too much to list. Everything
must be gone by Sunday, November 20. Any ques
tions call 678-227-2671. No texting please.
“Okinawa
Etched Deep
in My Mind”
By Herman Buffington
A Georgia Soldier’s
Recollection of
Okinawa, The Last Battle
of World War Two
This book by Herman Buffington, the long-time pub
lisher of MainStreet Newspapers, is again available in a
limited quantity.
Buffington, who passed away in 2014, was a combat infan
tryman in the last battle of World War II, the Battle of
Okinawa. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 96th Infantry
“Deadeyes” Division and this book is his personal recollec
tion of the Easter Sunday, 1945 Okinawa invasion and other
memories of that battle.
The book is available for $10 plus tax at The Jackson Herald
office, 33 Lee Street in Jefferson.
To have a book mailed to you, send a check for $13.70 ($10
plus tax & shipping) to Helen Buffington, 162 Jett Roberts
Road, Jefferson, GA 30549. For more information, call 706-
614-4354.