Newspaper Page Text
opinion
Thursday, June 17, 2021 • Page 4A
Send your letters to: Editor, Upson Beacon, 108 E Gordon Street, Thomaston, Ga 30286 or email to: dlord@upsonbeacon.com The opinions expressed on this page are
not necessarily the opinions of the Upson Beacon staff. Please limit letters to 400 words. All letters must be signed and accompanied by a telephone number for verification purposes.
Telephone numbers will not be printed.
Debbie McClain
Publisher
Lordy, Lordy...
Homelessness: A
Problem That Needs to
Become a Priority
Last week I touched on a
growing problem we have in
our community, homelessness.
I will say again, if we only had
one homeless person, that
would be too many. We ac
tually have several, but what to
do about it is an even bigger
problem.
Georgia is ranked 12th in
the nation for homelessness.
The Georgia Department of
Community Affairs isn’t count
ing the homeless population
for cities and counties right
now because of the pandemic. I
have no idea exactly how many
we have, but it seems to be
growing.
Where are they coming
from? Some are local, been
here all of their lives. They
really aren’t even homeless, but
chose to stay outdoors 24/7.
Then there are rumors that
deputies and officers from
other communities are bring
ing them here at night and
dropping them off. When I
called the other communities
for answers, I didn’t get a sin
gle response.
I have heard other reasons
too, but cannot seem to get
clear answers.
Silvertown’s West Village
seems to be the chosen central
location and has a real problem
with homelessness. Some res
idents may be fine with it, but
most are not. Over the past
year one of my neighbors was
in her back yard and a home
less person came out from
under her house. It really
scared her.
A couple caught the woods
across the street from my
house on fire. In the middle of
the fire sat a grill (cause of the
fire), a tarp, and suitcase that
belonged to the homeless cou
ple. Several of my neighbors
have walked outside to see
someone sleeping on their
front porches. The list goes on
and on.
Most of our homeless pop
ulation are either drug addicts
or have a mental illness, some
have both. It’s not that we
aren’t sympathetic or don’t
want to help, we are simply not
trained to help. We are also a
bit scared too. We can and have
called the police, but these
folks don’t belong in jail, they
need professional help. Our of
ficers do everything they can,
and it’s greatly appreciated, but
it’s not their problem to solve.
We need to have real con
versations about the homeless
population in order to fix it.
But like every other tough
topic, it’s a struggle to even talk
about it without being called
names or offending someone. I
have been told that I wasn’t a
Christian and that I didn’t have
Jesus in my life. I’ve been
called heartless for not wanting
them in my neighborhood.
I wish those who sit in
judgement would understand
that we do not feel safe in our
own yards. It’s very short
sighted for a person to call
another heartless because they
aren’t living with the problem
every day. Believe me when I
say watching a homeless drug
addict tweaking, walking up
and down your alley looking for
a place to sleep, or waiting for
a drug drop, does not make one
feel safe.
Silvertown is in a constant
state of transition, it could
easily become a less desirable
place to own property or live.
Our houses aren’t large or ex
pensive, but right now it is a
great place. Let’s face it, there
is a huge lack of services avail
able to the homeless and our
officials to help remedy the
problem. We just want our
neighborhood to stay safe and
clean.
Tim Gordy runs a homeless
ministry called Acts Com
munity Outreach here and he
has invited the public to attend
meetings to discuss the prob
lem and help with the situ
ation. I do plan to attend the
meetings when they are an
nounced, but I am struggling
because I think problem solv
ing on this level needs some
professional guidance.
I would love to hear, from
our readers, their ideas and
feedback on this topic...
I’m Just Say in’:
Buckhead Could Be
Catalyst for Change
The latest Georgia issue to
receive national attention is
Buckhead’s attempt to secede
from Atlanta.
Buckhead officials cite a rise
in crime as the top motivator,
pointing to a 63 percent in
crease in homicides and 45 per
cent jump in shooting incidents
from this time last year in the
capital. There have been 300
shootings since the start of
2021, according to news
sources.
Residents say they are pay
ing too much in taxes and re
ceiving too little in return from
the current administration, one
saying, “We’ve lost all faith in
them.” Bill White, chairman of
the Buckhead City Committee,
said “...we’re establishing our
own police force and we will
eradicate crime.”
The threat of secession has
drawn attention partially, if not
predominantly, because it
would remove 20 percent of the
population and more than 40
percent of the assessed prop
erty tax value from Atlanta.
With that type of tax base,
Buckhead likely could be suc
cessful in withdrawal, but the
impact on Atlanta’s finances
“would be devastating,” accord
ing to one official.
Then maybe Atlanta officials
should get off their asses and
clean up the city - just as fed
eral officials should get off
theirs and clean up the country.
The homicide rate across 34
American cities increased by 30
percent during 2020, the high
est single-year percentage
change on record, according to
U.S. News & World Report.
As detrimental as I believe
Joe Biden has been, particu
larly to the security of our
southern border, I hope noth
ing happens to him in the next
three and a half years. Kamala
Harris has proven that she is
not ready for her job, much less
his.
In an NBC News interview,
Lester Holt reminded Harris
she has not been to the border.
Her response was, “And I have
n’t been to Europe. I don’t un
derstand the point you’re
making.”
Understand that NBC, along
with most other television
media, is far from conservative.
So for Holt to ask that question
suggests that Harris’ ineptitude
B. Waine
Kong, Ph.D., JD
Waine’s World:
Summer in
Thomaston: I Hope
You are Having Fun
While those living in the
western states are running out
of water, we have plenty in
Thomaston and the weather is
wonderful. I was having lunch at
our weekly Kiwanis meeting last
week and overheard two of our
members delightfully discussing
their catch. I don’t know
whether these were just “fish
stories” but they laughed
heartily as they described the
big one that broke their line and
got away, the bass they had for
dinner, and the promise of
where they plan to fish the fol
lowing week with the kids. I
wouldn’t be surprised that
George Gershwin was thinking
of Thomaston when he wrote
“Summertime,” the aria that
opens his Porgy and Bess opera:
Summertime
And the livin' is easy
Fish arejumpin'
And the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy’s rich
And your ma is good-lookin'
So hush, little baby
Don’t you cry
One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you 'll spread your wings
And you’ll take the sky
But 'til that morning
There's a’nothing can harm
you
With daddy and mammy
standing by
At our house, I am not the
only one who rises up singing,
has reached such a point that it
cannot be ignored, even by
news organizations that pro
mote a liberal agenda.
Second, if she doesn’t “un
derstand the point” of not visit
ing a place where almost a
million people have crossed il
legally into our country, she is
either in denial, out of touch,
lazy, or just plain dumb. For al
most five months since Biden
repealed Trump’s action and
set this crisis in motion, neither
the president nor vice president
have dared go near it.
Granted, Biden dumped it in
Harris’ lap, but that’s part of
the job. So stop laughing about
it, and do something.
In the same interview, Har
ris said, “There’s not going to be
a quick fix.” (That is quite ob
vious, particularly since you
started the process in Guate
mala.) “My focus is dealing with
the root causes of migration.”
(In that case, you never needed
to get on the plane - the root
our abundant birds are either
trying to outdo each other or
calling out to the opposite sex.
When I was raising my children,
to wake them on special morn
ings, I sang: “Oh, what a beauti
ful mornin',oh, what a beautiful
day. I got a beautiful feelin', ev
erything's goin' my way.” I
would sing it as loud as I could
and they would complain but I
know they liked it. While they
are visiting, I am practicing to
wake them up each morning. I
will be competing with our
abundant birds.
I am so proud of where I live,
I have invited my four children,
six grandchildren and several
other relatives to visit us in
Thomaston for a week in July.
cause of this migration is in
Washington, D.C.)
Texas, like Buckhead, has
seen enough. Governor Greg
Abbott announced that Texas
will begin construction of its
own wall and enforce protec
tion of its border. Good for him.
I’m beginning to sense a
growing weariness with the
“woke” culture, and not a mo
ment too soon. I believe it’s a
relatively small percentage of
the population which makes a
lot of noise, diverting attention
and resources from more press
ing issues that threaten our
safety and possibly even our
freedom.
Maybe it’s time to re-focus
on the basic values which built
this country. And if that focus
doesn’t start at the top, it can
start in small towns like ours
and build momentum. Success
is just as contagious as failure.
Maybe Buckhead can serve
as an example. I’m sure the
country will be watching.
So, if you run across some
people who look like me, please
give them a Thomaston smile
and a howdy. While they won’t
know what you are talking
about, you may even inquire:
“How’s your mama an dem?”
We rented some farm houses
to handle our brood, but while
they are here, in addition to eat
ing some Georgia peaches and
peach cobbler, we plan to visit
the aquarium in Atlanta, the
Rock Ranch, Pine Mountain
(Callaway Gardens, Warm
Springs), the Dausset Trail, Sa
vannah, and High Falls, my fa
vorite state park.
There is so much to choose
from and so much to do. I am
thankful. Aren’t you?
In Lee Greenwood's “God
Bless The USA,” the chorus
starts out with "I'm proud to be
an American, where at least I
know I'm free." American pride.
Southern pride. Pride in our
faith. How often do we hold our
heads high because we esteem
ourselves in our ‘Christian’
ideals?
We take pride in a lot of
things that we are a part of
simply by chance. We should all
remember Paul’s letter to the
Ephesians where he tells us,
"For by grace you have been
saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift
of God."
There is no problem with
having pride. Pride can lead us
to do our best, to be the best we
can be. Too much pride leads to
arrogance, which makes us be
lieve we are better than others.
We become judgmental and
hateful. The book of Proverbs
tells us that “pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit
before a fall.”
Take a moment to be intro
spective. Do you think that what
you post on social media doesn’t
count? What about the hateful
things you spout off at your tel
evision in the privacy of your
own home? God still hears it
even if no one else does. Our
country is as divided as it has
ever been, and all people want to
do is point fingers at someone
else instead of pointing those
fingers back at themselves.
These actions are the very oppo
site of what Christians should be
projecting to our neighbors.
What can we do about it?
How can we change? It’s simple,
we go back to the basics that we
first learned in Sunday school,
“love one another.”
This poses the question of
who exactly is included in “one
another”: our neighbor, the
people next door, the people ac
ross town, across the country,
across the world? What about
African Americans, Asians,
Arabs, Mexicans, Native Ameri
cans, Whites, or any other race
that is not the same race as
yours? Does it include people
who make gender identification
or sexuality preference decisions
that are different than what you
have chosen for yourselves?
Does it include the adulterer,
the fornicator, the prostitute,
the drug addict, and other un
thinkable kinds of sinners?
The answer to all of these
questions is a resounding yes.
We are here to love each other
whatever differences there may
be between us. We are not here
to pass judgement, that alone is
for God. We are not to show hate
to the other men and women
with whom we share this planet.
We don’t have to spit on them
and tear them down like we
often do to anyone who doesn’t
fit into our box of what is and is
not ‘socially acceptable’.
Instead, we should show love
by praying for them. That is
what the Word tells us to do. It
is what the world should see us
doing.
True Christian pride comes
from having enough humility to
love the lowest of the low be
cause we have our eyes on the
highest of the high. Anything
less is a knife to God’s heart.
Let’s do better starting right
now, in this very moment,
wherever you may be.
Let’s show everyone love is
stronger than hate and remold
this country in the way we know
Jesus would, with love.
Trip TTricon Rpapor
Just $29 per
X11 v v UIjUII JJv&v'V/l
1 year in Upson
706-646-2382
County