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4A ®jje 1) eralb <©a?£tt£ Tuesday, May 24,2022
Opinions
Ruffin's Renderings: The chaos
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
The Bible begins with
these words (I’m quoting
from the New Revised
Standard Version): “In
the beginning when God
created the heavens and
the earth, the earth was
a formless void and dark
ness covered the face of
the deep, while a wind
from God swept over
the face of the waters”
(Genesis 1:1-2). In other
words, at its beginning,
the world was chaotic.
Then God went to work
on the chaos, step by
step bringing order to it.
When God had finished
God’s creative work,
the Bible says that God
judged everything that
God had created as being
“very good” (Genesis
1:31).
And indeed, at the
conclusion of the seven
days of creation as out
lined in Genesis l:l-2:4a,
one gets the sense that
everything is in its place.
The world is sound and
orderly. There seems to
be no chaos.
But one might well
wonder if the chaos is
still lurking beneath the
surface. And in fact, in
the story of Noah’s ark,
the storm that causes the
flood is more than just a
big rainstorm—it is the
return of the chaos: “all
the fountains of the great
deep burst forth, and the
windows of the heavens
were opened” (Genesis
7:11).
God promises never
again to destroy the
world by a flood (Genesis
9:11). But that doesn’t
mean that some chaos
can’t burst forth here
and there from time to
time.
All too often in our
nation, the chaos bursts
forth in a hail of bullets.
According to a Nation
al Public Radio story, the
independent data collec
tion organization the Gun
Violence Archive reports
that there have been 198
mass shootings—defined
as an incident in which
four or more people are
shot or killed, exclud
ing the shooter—in the
United States so far in
2022. There were 693
mass shootings in our
nation in 2021.
It is a sad fact that
we have become ac
customed to hearing
news reports about such
incidents of mass vio
lence. It is a further sad
fact that most
of us will give
such incidents
little thought
after the news
cycle moves on
to some other
story. It is an
even sadder
fact that most of
us will not feel
compelled to
try to do some
thing—and to try
to get our leaders to do
something—about the
epidemic of mass shoot
ings in our society until
one results in the death
or injury of someone we
love. 1 hope that none of
us ever have experienced
or ever will experience
such a tragedy. But 1 also
hope and pray that we
will come to care more
about those who have
experienced such a ter
rible loss.
The Bible teaches that
one of these days, God
will permanently elimi
nate the chaos. When
that day comes, there
will be no more sick
ness, sorrow, sadness,
or grief. There will be no
more mass shootings.
Until that day comes,
we have to deal with the
eruptions of chaos. It is
natural for humans to do
what they can
to try to keep
the chaos at
bay.
One way
that people
respond to the
chaos of gun
violence is to
advocate for
putting more
guns into the
system. I’m
not sure they
would put it that way, but
that seems to me to be
the practical effect of op
posing any and all efforts
to place any kinds of limi
tations on gun ownership
rights. The irony is that
having guns available to
just about anyone at just
about any time increases
rather than decreases
the possibility of gun vio
lence and of mass shoot
ings. (That at least seems
logical to me, although 1
guess it is impossible to
prove.) Anyway, advocat
ing for more guns as the
solution to gun violence
seems to me to be illogi
cal and counterproduc
tive.
There is a sense in
which, when it comes
to guns in America, the
toothpaste is out of the
tube. According to the
Pew Research Center,
four out of ten Americans
live in a household with
a gun, and three out of
ten Americans personally
own a gun. According to
that same research, sixty
percent of gun owners
cite personal protection
as the main reason they
own a gun. To put it in
the terms I’ve been us
ing, they own a gun in an
effort to protect them
selves against the chaos.
By now, some of you
are thinking that any new
or additional gun regula
tion will not address the
real problem. The real
problem, you would say,
is a mental, emotional, or
even a spiritual one. Until
people’s hearts change,
you would suggest, we
will have tragedies such
as mass shootings. Until
people’s minds change,
the chaos will continue
to burst forth. And some
of us would add, only
God can bring about
such a change.
I’ve already said that
God will one of these
days bring an end to
the chaos. 1 agree that
people need to have their
hearts, minds, and spirits
changed by God here
and now if we are going
to see any meaningful
reduction in the chaos. 1
would like to suggest one
way that we can be open
to the change that God
wants to bring about in
our hearts.
Racist and white
supremacist beliefs don’t
motivate all mass shoot
ings, but they clearly
motivated the one that
recently occurred in Buf
falo, New York. Racism
and white supremacy are
wrong and sinful ide
ologies. If we want to be
open to the changes that
God wants to bring about
in our hearts, minds, and
spirits, we should avoid
racism and white su
premacy, but we should
do more than that. We
should also disavow
and repudiate them and
anyone that practices,
promotes, or advocates
for them. Perhaps in so
doing we can contrib
ute to a world in which
racially motivated mass
shootings are less likely
to occur.
It would at least be a
step toward lessening the
chaos.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
Kudzu & Clay: Sacred chocolate
CHRIS WALTER
cwalter@walterfoundation.com
Every Christmas as a
child I used to get very
excited when I heard the
grumble of a diesel en
gine in the driveway and
the door
bell ring
moments
later. It
meant
some de
livery ser
vice had
dropped
off pres
ents. Usually, the big
gest and best box came
from my granny. There
would be tons of artfully
wrapped presents for us
kids, but only one small,
rectangular box for my
parents with instructions
to open before Christ
mas. And in this box was
a smaller box of specialty
chocolates from a choco
late maker in Ohio.
Now, when I think
about chocolate, my
mind doesn’t carry me to
Ohio, but I guess these
particular chocolates
hold some regional im
portance as that is where
my grandmother is from.
Every single year my dad
would take this package.
Open it. Let us look at
the chocolates like some
sort of ancient treasure.
Then immediately close
it and put it on the high
est shelf in our kitchen
or top of our refrigera
tor where we couldn’t
reach. It used to drive
me absolutely bonkers. If
we were lucky he would
allow us one piece after
dinner in a very ceremo
nious display, but that
was rare. Many years the
box just sat on high, col
lecting dust, eventually
disappearing. Dad would
constantly talk about
how great the candy
was, but would never
eat it. I believe, to him,
the torture was much
more satisfying than the
calories.
Because of the per
ceived rarity of this
sacred chocolate, I felt a
certain accomplishment
when I became an adult
and my grandmother
started sending these
traditional shipments to
me. I had crossed over
from getting boxes full
of plastic toys to becom
ing a man and having
my own precious box of
chocolates...all to myself.
Except they weren’t just
for me, my wife’s name
was on the delivery as
well, so I had to share.
To this woman I live
with, these chocolates
were nothing more than
a slightly higher-caliber
candy. The same kind of
stuff you can find on the
top shelf of the grocery
store candy aisle. She
would eat them as if they
were any regular old
holiday treat (because
that’s what they were).
But to me, they were
something far more.
They were constructed
from the very ingredients
of Christmas itself, each
morsel a tiny piece of the
spirit and embodiment of
the season. Granted, she
thought they were deli
cious, but as I watched
her consume these
candies, my candies by
birthright, I became jeal
ous. I convinced myself
she was unaware of the
magic they contained,
therefore unworthy, even
if they were also sent
to her. I started hiding
them. Rationing them. I
finally understood the
strange hoarding be
haviors I witnessed as a
child.
My greed and protec
tiveness over this choco
late started to drive a
wedge between her and
me. I was regressing into
another barbaric habit
I picked up from my
childhood. This would be
another thing she needed
to beat out of me in her
never-ending crusade
to make me a normal
person. She became
even more baffled when
she witnessed this same
behavior in my brother.
One year she watched
him slowly savor a few
select pieces from his
personal box and carry
on about how delicious
and special they were.
She bet me that he would
not be able to tell the
difference between the
‘special’ candy if it were
to be switched out with a
cheap alternative. There
was no way. Christmas
tastes like Christmas and
cheap tastes like cheap.
So she went to the
dollar store and bought
the cheapest box of
chocolates she could
find. They had been in
the store so long the
distinct, discount smell
of the store had calcified
in every molecule of the
candy. When my brother
wasn’t looking she
replaced them all and
waited. When he opened
the box back up and
meticulously surveyed
his treasure, picking the
perfect candy for that
moment, I watched, wait
ing for him to spit it out
this imposter. He did not,
instead, he closed his
eyes and savored every
moment of it. For the rest
of the holiday, it went like
that until he had eaten
every single piece, never
I never knew how im
portant reading was until
I had my son. My daugh
ter was born with hardly
any complications, full
term, and was always at
the top 99% of her age
and development. My
son was another story.
He was born at 26 weeks
and five days. He was
considered a “micro
preemie” because he
only weighed 1 lb 11 oz.
He was the size of two
adult hands put together.
While he was in NICU,
his doctors and nurses
stressed the importance
of reading and talking
to him on a daily basis,
so my daughter would
choose a book from their
library and read to him
every day that we came
to visit him. I started
to notice how his alert
ness to people’s speak
ing increased. He would
always watch his sister
so intently as if he knew
exactly what she was
saying when she would
knowing it was a cheap
placebo.
After this experiment,
I was no longer able to
be as protective of the
candy because I had
been proven wrong. I
kept going over it in
my head. I realized that
a trick like that could
work with my brother
but not me. Of course he
couldn’t tell the differ
ence! He didn’t have my
read to him. His progress
in NICU began to improve
each day!
Before we left the
NICU (we were there
from July 10 to Oct. 22),
we were asked to fill out
a Ferst Readers applica
tion at our local health
department. I did not
hesitate!
Since then he has
received books on a
monthly basis. He is
always excited to see an
other book come through
the mail with his name
on it. We read at least
nightly and he under
stands that reading is a
time for us. His vocabu
lary has increased and
using those vocabulary
words in context amazes
me every day.
We were told that he
would possibly have
cognitive and develop
mental delays but being
exposed to reading since
he was out of the womb
has decreased those
negative connotations
sophisticated palette. I’ve
seen the kid eat snakes
before. He was only a few
genes away from being a
Neanderthal, not the next
step in evolution like me.
I went back to hiding the
candy so as to ensure
its survival. That’s when
my wife let me know that
she knew the trick would
work on my brother
because she had been
doing it to me for years.
Kj
and instead has given
him a step ahead. I am so
glad that introducing him
to reading has given us
a new sense of hope for
him. Reading has been a
true hero in my home.
MRS. FRANCESCA RAINES
Learning Support Specialist
The importance of reading to my son
LAMAR
FLASHBACK
May 22-28
10 years ago
Two old Barnesville
buildings which had
become eyesores were
demolished. The old
Peavy Furniture Building
at 114 Merchants Way
was taken down by city
crews. Also getting the
wrecking ball was the old
Lamar EMC building on
College Drive. That 2.87-
acre site was designated
for commercial develop
ment but remains empty
to this day.
25 years ago
Five local young
people were named
Youth of the Year by the
local Optimist Club. They
were cited for commu
nity leadership. The five
were Jennifer Brown,
Tiffany Vaughn, Melanie
Brown, Lori Beth Bryan
and Matthew Dyal.
50 years ago
A bond referendum
authorizing the construc
tion of the new Lamar
County Comprehensive
High School passed by
a narrow margin after
months of fierce debate.
The yeas out polled the
nays 1148-1039.
100 years ago
The sad news was
received in the city
Saturday morning of
the death of Mr. Sol C.
Bloodworth which oc
curred early that morn
ing in Trinidad, Colo
rado. The news of his
serious illness reached
here some days before,
and his father, Mr. E. H.
Bloodworth, had made
arrangements to go to
Colorado to see him. Sol
represented Barnesville
Manufacturing in New
York City before moving
to Colorado for health
reasons.
Zi)t Umltr #a^tte
barnesville.com
770.358.NEWS
P.0. Box 220
Publisher
Staff
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