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Send a letter to the editor to P.O. Box 1600, Dawsonville, GA 30534; fax (706) 265-3276; or email to editor@dawsonnews.com.
DawsonOpinion
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8,2022
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not reflect our views.
Paying tribute
to Sanders and
a life well-lived
She was
Georgia’s Grand
Dame. Our state’s
First Lady. A pro
lific artist. A phi
lanthropist and my
muse. She was
Betty Foy
Sanders, who died
on May 29 at the age of 95 after a life well-
lived.
I first came to her attention for my
unabashed admiration for her husband, for
mer Gov. Carl Sanders. It was through his
leadership that Georgia was spared a lot of
the racial strife that engulfed our neighbor
ing states in the late ’60s.
Gov. Sanders kept the lid on much of the
unrest of that period and helped make
Atlanta the capitol of the New South. He
didn’t stand in the schoolhouse door. It was
not necessary for the federal government to
bring in the National Guard to restore order.
“I was elected to obey the law,” he told me,
“and I did.”
His reward was a shameless race-baiting
campaign by Jimmy Carter in the 1970 gov
ernor’s race. Carter’s campaign criticized
Sanders for paying tribute to Martin Luther
King Jr. (Gov. Sanders and Attorney General
Arthur Bolton were the only two state offi
cials to attend King’s funeral) and his staff
distributed photographs at KKK rallies of
Sanders arm-in-arm with two Black basket
ball players. At the time, Sanders was part-
owner of the Atlanta Hawks.
While Gov. Sanders was bemused at the
opportunistic political U-tum Jimmy Carter
made after his election, (he later said of
Carter, “He is not proud of that election, and
he shouldn’t be,”) Betty Sanders was not so
forgiving. Neither was I. Thus, a common
bound developed between us.
She was an avid reader of this space. I
would often get calls from the governor to
report that Ms. Sanders had enjoyed a partic
ular column of mine. Once when a column
didn’t ran because a thin-skinned college
president prevailed on a publisher not to
print my criticism of him, Gov. Sanders
called me looking for the publisher’s tele
phone number. Betty was upset, he said, and
wanted him to personally convey her dis
pleasure at the absence of my column that
week. I suggested we not do that. Publishers
can be thin-skinned, too, and future columns
might never see the light of day. Fortunately,
my plea prevailed, but I appreciated her loy
alty and our friendship grew.
Long before we came to know each other
personally, I had admired Betty Sanders as a
preeminent artist. She referred to herself as
“the paintingest first lady Georgia has ever
seen.”
A graduate of the University of Georgia’s
School of Art, Ms. Sanders was not only an
artist of first rank, she was a devoted pro
moter of art. It was at her suggestion that
Gov. Sanders established the Georgia
Council for the Arts. She served seven years
on the arts council board.
“It was the largest dose of culture this state
had ever seen from one governor,” she said.
“It opened the door to towns, counties and
schools to bring art, the symphony and ballet
into their areas,”
Over the years, she donated her artwork to
schools and museums across the state. A col
lection created by fellow Georgia artists is
housed in her hometown of Statesboro at
Georgia Southern University, where the fine
arts department bears her name.
Ms. Sanders also took a personal interest
in my efforts as a nascent artist. She enjoyed
discussing our mutual painting projects,
which was akin to Colin Powell discussing
military strategy with Beetle Bailey. While I
can turn out a reasonably adequate oil paint
ing on occasion, Betty Sanders was con
stantly reinventing herself as an artist and
expanding the boundaries of art. Her reper
toire ranged from portraits to landscapes to
still life to paintings accented with rocks and
minerals such as amethyst, shell and quartz.
Most artists aren’t that brave or that talented.
Predictably, time catches up with us all
and the last few years found Betty Sanders
confined to a wheelchair. But even that
didn’t stop her from continuing to find new
avenues of art. When painting became too
difficult, she managed to produce a set of
doodles that were extraordinarily creative.
In one of our last conversations, she told
me she was tired and ready to join her
beloved husband at their final resting place
in Augusta.
Her wish has now been granted. While
Betty Foy Sanders had an enduring and posi
tive impact on our state, she still found time
to inspire me to do my best, whether it be
putting words on paper or oil on canvas. She
was truly Georgia’s first lady and I am
thankful to have known her.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough atdick@dick-
yarbrough.com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
GA 31139; online atdickyarbrough.com or on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/dickyarb.
Embrace the yuck
I’m all about trying
to have a positive atti
tude.
I understand how
important gratitude is.
I’ve been trained in and
studied positive psy
chology for the last
three years.
I have a strong grasp
on the power of our mindset
and perspective and how impor
tant it is to look for those
moments and glimmers of hope
and joy.
So I am on board with all of
these aspects and aware of help
ful they can be when we’re
reframing those negative situa
tions we encounter.
It’s called reframing because
we’re shifting the framework of
the situation ever so slightly,
like with a camera, to cut the
yucky stuff out and to only
focus on the pretty and the good
stuff.
Again -1 get the reasons why
we do this and how it can be
helpful.
Ido.
But I also am one who thinks
sometimes, we just need to real
ly embrace the yuck.
I’ve grown a bit weary of the
toxic positivity I’ve seen float
ing around the last few years,
where things get a pastel wash
ing with those reframes that
make you feel like there’s
something wrong with you for
saying or even thinking that
things are not all rain
bows and puppies.
I’ve never been one
for saying things are
great when they aren’t,
or for not speaking my
truth, despite how
uncomfortable it may
make someone feel.
It’s hereditary, this
whole inability to pretend
things are hunky dory when
they’re not, a direct genetic trait
from the Redhead Prime her
self.
So I am proposing we
embrace the yuck.
That doesn’t mean we enjoy
it, or even go out looking for
yucky stuff to experience.
Not by a long shot.
What it does mean is we stop
saying things are fine, when
they aren’t; rather than smiling
and nodding, we speak up.
We are going to acknowledge
that things are not the way we
want them to be, and yet some
how, we’re going to be OK with
that.
It’s practicing the concept of
radical acceptance in a way.
where we just accept the fact
that sometimes, things are
yucky and there may not be
anything we can do about it.
We sit with it and acknowl
edge it, and rather than trying to
fake our way through the emo
tions of it, we just accept that
the yuck is. At least for a
moment.
r<r
SUDIE
CROUCH
Columnist
I really believe this is so
important right now.
I was speaking with someone
about this the other day. I asked
them how they had been and
they said truthfully, “I’m
exhausted.”
I asked them if they needed
to sleep.
“No. Sleep won’t help this.
I’m exhausted from-” they ges
tured with their hand - “every
thing. Stuff. It’s just tiring. You
know?”
I did know.
We’re exhausted by so much
lately - we have fatigue from
the pandemic, mass shootings,
the war, and all the other hor
rors we see - and that only
serves to compound our own
personal stuff that we’re dealing
with.
Many of us are grieving,
whether it’s from losing a loved
one, a relationship, or even a
job loss. In some cases, it may
be the loss of something we
didn’t really have, but just had
the illusion of.
It’s not so much the ‘what’
but rather the fact that we are all
dealing with a tremendous
amount of yuck at any given
time. We’re just all hiding it
behind a smile, or telling people
we’re fine. Maybe it’s a form of
denial; as long as we deny it,
things are OK.
Granny never did that. When
she’d walk into Walmart and the
greeter asked her how she was,
she stopped and told her the
honest-to-God truth. I was mor
tified to stand there and hear my
grandmother rattle on for 10
minutes about everything from
how her gallbladder had been
giving her fits to how the align
ment was out on her
Oldsmobile.
“Granny, she didn’t really
want to know,” I’d say as we
walked away.
‘Then she shouldn’t have
asked.” ‘That’s her job. She’s
supposed to say ‘hey’ and ‘how
are you’. She doesn’t expect
people to really tell her.”
Granny stopped dead in her
tracks. “That’s what’s wrong
with this world. People don’t
care how other folks are doing
and people ain’t telling them
when they do ask.”
The old gal was right, as she
always was.
And maybe the reason people
stopped caring as much wasn’t
out of neglect but because they
believed, as they had been told,
that everything was fine.
When we hear it enough -
and say enough ourselves - we
start to believe that lie, too.
As we embrace the yuck, we
not only are being honest with
ourselves and everyone else, but
maybe we’re taking some of the
power of the yuck away as well.
I really think if we were able
to say. “This is not the way I
want this to be,” or “this is not
fine; I’m struggling right now,”
and were able to talk about it,
really talk about it. and cast
light to those shadows, maybe
just maybe, things could and
would get better.
Sudie Crouch is an award win
ning columnist and author.
COVID cases continue to climb in Dawson
By Dr. Larry Anderson
Anderson Family Medicine
With apologies to Paul Simon: “Hello
COVID, my old friend, I have come to
talk with you again.” For the third week
in a row the number of COVID cases in
Dawson County have continued to climb.
It is time to increase our efforts for pre
vention. Consider wearing a mask when
you are in a crowd of strangers, when
people appear to be not feeling well, or
whenever you are not sure. Continue to
wash your hands more frequently and do
a better job when you do wash. Keep
using the hand sanitizer. Be safer.
We now have 25 cases of Monkeypox
in the US. One case in Georgia. There is
a rare chance that you will get exposed
but be alert. Avoid people with skin
lesions that look like fluid filled bumps.
Do not take chances.
We now have Avian Influenza in
Georgia. A back yard flock was found to
have the virus. Remember it is spread by
wild birds flying overhead and leaving a
business card. Put your backyard birds in
a safe area/shelter to protect them and the
rest of the domestic flocks in our state.
The only virus taking a back seat is
influenza. It is still with us but is not very
active. Let’s not take a chance. Get the
vaccine. Stay home if you are sick.
Cough in your elbow. You know all this
stuff already.
The only thing not going viral in
Georgia is my column. Be safe. Thanks
for reading.
LETTERTOTHE EDITOR
U.S. Economy is
in serious trouble
For the last several months I have read
many letters to the editor from an indi
vidual who considers herself/himself the
resident economist for Dawson County
— or at least that’s how it seems since
the letter always seems to include the
topic of economics. Well, today, I hope
to become the resident expert economist
for Dawson County. I do hold bachelors,
masters, and doctorate degrees in eco
nomics. I write today in a response to a
recent letter to the editor on our econom
ic times. Today’s U.S. Economy is in
serious trouble. There are six major
causes, with just the first two being
COVID related. Cause 1: COVID creat
ed a major shutdown of the world econo
my, not just the U.S. Economy which
essentially greatly reduced production of
all goods and services for a year and a
half beyond January 2020. This created
significant and varied product and ser
vice shortages. The second cause of sig
nificant economic impact of COVID was
to create a severe shortage of labor as
businesses struggled to recover their pro
duction from the initial economic shut
down/slowdown. This shortage of labor
has raised the minimum wage to around
$15.00 per hour across the U.S.
Economy. This is a good thing — but it
will take at least three years for this situ
ation to fully play out in the economy.
The third cause is the obvious — the
severe increase in fossil fuel pieces. The
sad thing about this particular cause is
that it was totally preventable, and is eas
ily solved except that President Biden
and the entire democrat party likes the
high prices we all pay for fossil fuels
because it fits their policy scenario.
Cause 4: There are severe supply short
ages due to (1) world and U.S. produc
tion levels still being significantly lower
than pre-COVID levels, and (2) the U.S.
is far too dependent on Chinese parts,
subassemblies, and final goods. The fifth
cause is part and parcel to our supply
chain shortages and that is a severely
wounded transportation system from
ports, and U.S. producers to every nook
and cranny in the U.S. territory. The
sixth and final cause: profligate federal
government spending. The federal gov
ernment produces no products, the
money they spend is to provide services
to the American public. Money spent
with no production output is simply
inflationary — unless sufficient taxes are
collected to offset the dollars spent on
government spending. The federal gov
ernment tax collections have met or
slightly exceeded the federal government
spending only 12 years out of the last 89.
The U.S. Congress has simply deter
mined that the only way to keep their
jobs in D.C. is to spend more money
(which most Americans like) and not
increase taxes (which most Americans
hate) to match the expenditures
increased. Unfortunately, unlike the con
clusion drawn by the previous economic
experts views of the previous aforemen
tioned letter author, I disagree that the
current inflation problem is any near
completion in time or resolution in fact.
The reason is simple. I have seen no one,
including the President, any members of
his cabinet, or any member of Congress,
either republicans or democrats who
have articulated a substantive set of
causes or proposed policies to solve the
current complex inflation dilemma of the
USA. Perhaps this newspaper will invite
me to provide my proposed solutions in
a future edition.
John Bredfeldt
Dawsonville
Letter policy
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