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PAGE 12A
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, November 17,2002
The Forsyth County News
Opinion
This is a page of opinions - ours, yours and others.
Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the
writers and artists and may not reflect our views.
A positive
voting experience
Before the elections
of Nov. 5 become
yesterday’s news,
the efforts of the county’s
election office and its poll
workers deserve special
praise.
Simply put, the new
electronic voting machines
worked like a charm, and
Forsyth election officials
were particularly well pre
pared to handle a big
turnout at the polls.
No election is ever com
pletely without problems,
but the balloting earlier this
month went much
smoother than has often
been the case, which is par
ticularly noteworthy in that
it was the state’s first expe
rience with computerized
voting.
That things went well
wasn’t an accident.
At the urging of
Elections Superintendent
Gary Smith, county offi
cials made a significant
financial commitment to
purchase more voting
machines than the mini
mum number required by
the state. That proved to be
a wise investment, as lines
at the polling places moved
Letters
Welcome to
Atlanta, Forsyth
I was witness to the most
obvious display of “rubber
stamp” government in action
at Tuesday’s Forsyth County
Commission Meeting. In a
matter of two hours, eight
rezoning applications were
approved for residential devel
opments with potential for
1,500+ new homes. This does
n’t even count the many rezon
ing approvals from Agri
cultural to Commercial.
The only denial was a man
who wanted to build a small
home on his existing home
site so his children can care
for him as he ages. No money
there.
Your local government has
chosen to promote the
advancement of a select few
rather than the good of the
entire community. Unfortu
nately, this happens 24 times a
year. You do the math.
Fellow Forsyth County res
idents ... Welcome to Atlanta.
Melba C. Allen
Cumming
Government
unions useless
With the nationwide flap
continuing over a stalled
Homeland Security bill, a
question needs to be asked.
Why do government employ
ees need a union? For that
matter, why do teachers?
Unions were created long ago
to correct abysmal, inhumane
and unsafe working conditions
imposed by companies large
and small. At the time, unions
were necessary to correct
these injustices, since there
was no legal precedent nor
state-sponsored redress avail
able to individual workers.
The key words! in the last sen
tence being, “at the time.” .
In the ensuing years, work
ing conditions have been
quickly and few of those
voting faced waits of an
unreasonable amount of
time.
County election officials
were particularly well pre
pared prior to the vote, as
they had conducted mock
elections and extensive
training so that poll work
ers were familiar with the
new machines and knew
how to handle potential
problems.
There was also a very
aggressive campaign to
expose as many voters as
possible to the new voting
equipment prior to election
day, so that voters moved
in and out of the polling
places more quickly when
it actually came time to
vote.
Thanks to a lot of fore
sight by county officials, a
commitment to training
and preparation, and the
considerable efforts of
dozens of election workers
tasked with a difficult job,
the Nov. 5 elections went
smoothly on the local level,
and voters had a good
experience at the polls.
Thanks to all for a job
well done.
improved dramatically over
the sweatshops of old, and the
environment that spawned
these practices has been elimi
nated. Much of the credit for
these improvements can be
paid directly to the union
movement. They served their
purpose admirably.
Unfortunately, unions these
days have been transformed
into nothing more than heavy
handed thugs, wielding the
strike club over any institution
unlucky to have instituted
them. Unions have turned into
power hungry entities which
coerce unreasonable job guar
antees out of employers, ulti
mately driving up costs, and
keeping companies from
expanding. They have stalled
the Homeland Security bill in
the Senate for all the wrong
reasons. Unions have placed
the job security of their mem
bers over the nation’s security.
The following questions
need to be asked. What unsafe
working conditions exist in
our government buildings that
need to be addressed by a
group of people? What inhu
mane working conditions exist
in our schools that need to be
corrected by the actions of a
group? If such an environment
existed, wouldn’t parents be
unwilling to send their kids to
school? Since when did gov
ernment service guarantee the
right to appeal dismissal when
the private sector does not?
The need for unions is long
gone. Continuing to submit to
their state-supported blackmail
merely drives up costs, and
reduces the quality of the
overall product. It’s time for
unions to be relegated to the
trash-heap of history.
Individuals should be striv
ing to be judged by the merits
of the highest achievers
around them, not be reduced
to the lowest common denom
inator of the group.
a David W. Richard
* Alpharetta
Reflections on Veterans Day:
Freedom’s obligation
Each year, the Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post 9143 in Cumming partici
pates in a national VFW “Voice of
Democracy ” contest for high school
students.
This year’s theme was “Freedom’s
Obligation.”
Entries were judged on Nov. 10,
and the first-place winner was
Rebekah T. Parker of Mansfield, Ga.,
who attends Heritage Classical
Studies Center in Watkinsville.
She won a $250 cash prize, and her
entry will be submitted by the VFW
post to the district level’s competition.
Last year’s winner was Cumming
resident Britt Miles.
For information about entering the
2003 contest, call local veteran Bud
Whedbee at (770) 889-6950.
• • •
There is a call ringing across
America, an enthralling sound of moti
vation. Since long ago, it has stirred in
the souls of courageous men and
women. It has been heard in the past in
the song of the bugle and the music of
the trumpet, in the violent explosion of
cannons and the outbursts of gunfire.
Seen in troops of bold men on horses
riding off to war and on posters printed
with “Uncle Sam Wants You,” beckon
ing for men and women to join the
military; in homes where women anx
iously sat crying at night waiting for
their husbands to return, and on red,
white and blue flags flying above
schools where children wondered of
their fathers’ fate, the cry has persisted.
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Flag waving participants in Monday’s Veterans Day observance in Cumming.
‘A grateful nation thanks you ’
Martha Conway, a World War II vet
eran and the past junior vice command
er of the American Legion Department
of Georgia, was the keynote speaker for
the Veterans Day observance in
Cumming on Nov. 11. The following are
excerpts from her address:
On this day we set aside our routine
activities and pause to appreciate the
men and women who have served this
nation in uniform.
This tradition of honoring our veter
ans began in 1919 as Armistice Day to
recognize those who died fighting in
the First World War. Congress broad
ened the scope of this national holiday
in 1954 to honor all veterans.
While every American has been
exposed to this holiday, there remains
some confusion about just who we are
honoring. Clearly we take this opportu
nity to honor those veterans who fought
in our nation’s wars. Combat veterans
are naturally the first people we think of
this day as we pay special homage to
those who faced the horrors of combat.
They have earned our nation’s deepest
admiration.
But a veteran is also that soldier,
sailor, airman, marine and Coast
Guardsman who served during peace
time, either on active duty or in the
reserve components. Our veterans rep
resent those who were drafted and those
who voluntarily signed up. Some
served their initial tour and returned to
civilian life while others made a career
of being in uniform.
Also, on this day, we appreciate
those men and women serving in
today’s military those who will be
tomorrow’s veterans. They have inherit
ed the defense of this nation and stand
guard in the shadow of their predeces
sors.
q Two months ago, we joined together
It is the call of freedom. Thousands of
men and women have died to attain
independence for future generations.
The cherished price they paid bought
liberty for America.
Two hundred and twenty-six years
have passed since the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, pro
claiming America the “land of the free
and the home of the brave.” The citi
zens of the United States of America
have had the privilege of enjoying
peaceful lives, free from abysmal dic
tatorship. The abundant democracy,
which the country has provided for her
inhabitants, has proved to be the most
important factor in determining what
has made America the strongest nation
in the world.
Once again, the freedom of
America has been defied by foreign
powers. In this day and age, America
is faced with another threat to her lib
erty. As the Arabs targeted the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon, the
chaos of the moment gripped people
with fear of the unknown. As a result,
a new surge of patriotism has occurred
since the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Often the youth of America feel
that they are too inadequate to serve
their country. They have the impres
sion that only adults can aid in the
defense of freedom. It has been proved
by scientific laws that the bumble bee
cannot fly because his wings are too
small in comparison to the size of his
body. The bee doesn’t know this; he
flies with certainty. This verifies the
as a nation to mourn the loss of more
than 3,000 good and decent people
and to pledge our commitment to win
the war on terrorism not for our
selves only, but for freedom-loving peo
ple of all nations.
Today we gather to honor those who
will win that war for us as well as to
honor those brave Americans who won
our past wars.
George Orwell once said, “People
sleep peaceably in their beds at night
only because rough men stand ready to
do violence on their behalf.”
Today, let us thank God for those
rough men and women who have been
the sentinels of liberty for more than
226 years.
They are America’s veterans...
... Yes, I am a veteran. And I submit
to you that anyone who is wearing the
uniform of the U.S. military today is
also a veteran.
Because being a veteran is not only
about having done one’s duty, but it’s
also characterized by a sense of patriot
ism.
A sense of service to others even
when it’s not appreciated.
And, above all else, it’s about a
bond that can be freely understood only
by those who have experienced life in a
military family...
... Look deeply into the eyes of our
younger veterans who fought in
Panama, Grenada, Lebanon, the Persian
Gulf, Kosovo and those who now con
front a faceless enemy in the war on
terrorism. You still find that desire to
defend that which we hold dear free
dom.
It does not matter when or where we
served, what duty we performed, or
branch of service we were in.
k Since Colonial times, America’s <it-
truth: when someone has a dream and
puts his mind to that dream, he can do
nearly anything. As long as he ignores
the skeptics, he will succeed. Anatole
France once said, “To accomplish
great things, we must not only act but
also dream, not only plan but also
believe.” Although the youth of
America can no longer join the army
and fight to preserve their independ
ence as they could in previous wars,
there is much that they can do in serv
ice to aid in the liberation of America
from her adversaries. I believe that the
young citizens of this nation are
indebted to her because of the environ
ment of liberty she has provided for
them. We have inherited an obligation
from our forefathers to defend our
country by living our lives daily in loy
alty. We should accept every opportu
nity presented to us to support our
country. We can assist in the protection
and preservation of our nation by
using our talents to encourage and
motivate those who are fighting for us.
Let us not forget the words of
President Abraham Lincoln. “It is
rather for us to be here dedicated to the
great task remaining before us that
from these honored dead we take
increased devotion; that we here high
ly resolve that these dead shall not
have died in vain; that this nation,
under God. shall have a new birth of
freedom ...” We must be bold. We must
now stand and serve our country with
pride in order to fulfill freedom’s obli
gation.
Conway
izen soldiers I
have earned
the honor of
being called a
“veteran.”
In
America we
set aside one
day a year to
honor those
few who
endured so
much that so |
many
here and
abroad might be free.
We Legionnaires are especially
proud of the young people who follow
in our footsteps today who stand on
freedom’s frontiers so that we and
those we love dearly can continue to
enjoy life in America this sweet land
of liberty.
Today, when we leave here, let us do
so with a renewed sense of pride in
what we, as veterans, have given to
America.
Let us always continue our efforts to
instill a deep sense of patriotism and
love of country in others, for this is
essential to sustaining our freedom.
Let us do whatever we can to sup
port our service men and women our
comrades in arms and their families
as they go in Harm’s way on our
behalf...
... Nothing we can say or do can
repay the debt that is owed to them. But
at least we can offer our gratitude and
our promise that we shall never forget.
Each of you knows only too well
that FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. A
grateful nation thanks you.
May God bless our veterans every
where and keep them safe. And May
God bless America on their special dap.