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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: This is who we are
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
In these days following
the January 6 attempted
insurrection against the
United States of America,
lots of people have made
claims such as “This is
not who we are” and
“We’re better than this.”
I’m afraid that we need
to admit that the oppo
site of those statements
is true. This is who we
are. We aren’t better than
this.
I wish that wasn’t the
case. But the evidence
is too overwhelming to
ignore.
An event such as
the assault on the
Capitol doesn’t occur
in a vacuum. This act
of insurrection didn’t
happen spontaneously.
It wasn’t a knee-jerk
reaction to the recent
election. No, our nation
has been building toward
this moment for a long
time. Divisions between
us, whether they are
cultural, social, religious,
or economic, have been
widening for decades—
maybe centuries—and
continue to do so.
Many factors exacer
bate our divisions and
complicate our predica
ment. Perhaps the main
factor is our tendency
to restrict our conver
sations to people who
agree with us. Social
media platforms enable
us to relate to a wide
range of people. On the
other hand, they make
it possible for us to shut
out people who try to get
us to look at things from
a different point of view.
We also tend to restrict
our real-life (as opposed
to online) relationship
circles to people who
agree with us.
We are
divided. This
is who we are.
We are not
better than
this.
Why is
this the case?
We can use a
lot of words
to name the
sources of
our conflicts
and divi
sions, including self-cen
teredness, selfishness,
and self-absorption, all
of which cause us to
devalue and denigrate
other people. “Sin” is still
a good word to name
why we are like we are.
What is the solution
to our division? I don’t
know. I’d like to be able
to say that we’d have
greater unity if we’d
all come to Jesus, but I
can’t, for a couple of rea
sons. First, history dem
onstrates how
division plagues
Christianity (it
plagues other
religions too,
but I know more
about mine).
Even Christians
can’t agree on
what it means
to be Christian.
Second, I suspect
that most of
the people who
attacked the Capitol on
January 6 profess to be
Christians. That’s a kind
of Christianity I can’t un
derstand. I want nothing
to do with it.
Now this doesn’t mean
that I don’t believe that
God can change people’s
hearts. I certainly do
believe that. But I also
take seriously what
people show me with
their lives. And people
consistently display an
unwillingness to take the
ways and words of Jesus
seriously when it comes
to politics. I fail to see
how a person can cheer
a politician’s words of
hate, vitriol, and vio
lence—the kind of words
spoken over the last five
years that culminated in
the despicable events of
January 6—while claim
ing ultimate allegiance to
the Prince of Peace who
taught us to love even
our enemies.
I love God more than I
love the United States. I
put faithfulness to Jesus
ahead of faithfulness to
my country. But I still
love this nation. And I
recognize that if we are
to still have a democ
racy a few years down
the road, we’re going
to have to find a way
to lessen our divisions.
I say “lessen” because
I don’t think we can
overcome or eliminate
them. But we all need to
find a renewed commit
ment to the democratic
processes that have
served as our foundation
for 245 years. I believe—I
hope—that if enough of
us will commit ourselves
to constructive engage
ment, to free and fair
elections, and to seeking
liberty and justice for all,
we might just make it.
Maybe we will at least
move far enough beyond
who we are and toward
who we can be that
we’ll arrive at a national
consensus that attacking
the houses of Congress
is a ridiculously inap
propriate reaction to not
having an election go the
way you wanted.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives in Yatesville and works in
Macon. His new book, Praying with
Matthew, is available at helwys.com
and at Amazon.
Ruffin’s
Renderings
Time to have some fun anyhow
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
COVID-19 is a threat but
citizens don’t seem to care
I read with great inter
est your editorial in last
week’s paper on getting
your vaccine. Congratu
lations on seeing the
light and realizing that
the COVID-19 pandemic
is real and not a govern
ment plot like some
citizens seem to think.
You mention the
COVID-19 numbers spik
ing here. Gee, ya think it
might have something
to do with the events
before Christmas where
wearing masks were not
encouraged or practic
ing social distancing? Or
maybe it’s because
when people go grocery
shopping, and there is a
very large white sign at
the entrance that says,
“For the safety of our
employees and custom
ers, masks are required
here.” But the store
doesn’t enforce it.
Stores have also
made it easy for people
to social distance with
well marked one way
signs. But, do people
bother? Of course
not. They even block the
aisles and visit. Which
makes it hard to stay
safe. Ok, I can see where
a person’s rights are be
ing questioned. But hey,
what about my safety?
Aren’t I entitled to be
concerned about my
health?
And you also make
a reference to our new
president. How about
giving him a chance
before you start criticiz
ing him. We gave your
guy a chance four years
ago. And look what he
did. Encouraged riots
to take over the Capitol
and made our fine na
tion a laughing stock to
the rest of the world.
THANK YOU,
BOB MURDV
BY KAY S. PEDROTTI
KAVSPEDROTTI@GMAIL.COM
Many of my columns
lately have been various
serious, bordering on
gloomy, so now I have de
cided it’s time for a little
fun. I will start by quoting
some of the world’s best
humorists - children.
First, an episode involv
ing the son of one my
cousins, said cousin being
the best “absent-minded
professor” model there
could be. His son, age
about 8, had a school proj
ect and sought help from
his mother. “I’m cooking
supper, honey. Ask your
Dad to help you.” The boy
replied, “But Mom! It has
to be a grownup!”
A long time ago, my
daughter and niece, who
were like sisters, ran out
of things with which to
amuse themselves and
decided the rest of us
could use some laughs.
They took a pinpoint
marker and drew faces
on the bottoms of all
their toes. Then they lay
down behind the otto
man, put their
toes up on the
top, and pro
ceeded with a
“toe concert.” It
truly was funny
-1 was reminded
of the old “Laugh
In” television
show - their
little brainstorm
looked a lot like
some of the wacky stunts
on that program.
We all know that
children just love to
embarrass their parents
in public. One day I had
my hyperactive youngest
son in the grocery-buggy
seat at the checkout
line. I was looking at
the tabloids and getting
my own laughs, when I
heard “my voice” com
ing from my son, “SIT
DOWN!” I looked up and
the woman ahead of me
had a little girl in the
buggy seat who had a
really scared look on her
face. Maybe because she
had tried to get out of the
seat, or maybe my son’s
suddenly grown-up voice
did scare her.
Now an adult
anecdote. My
cousin and her
husband were
having a heated
discussion
about some
thing she did
not want him to
do, or buy, or
have anything
to do with. Fi
nally the husband yelled,
“I am going to do that,
come rain, hell, water or
high shine!” The laughs
ended the argument.
Long years before
either of us grew up
and got married, that
same cousin and I used
to “spend the night” at
each other’s homes. She
and I each had a blue
bathrobe, so we invented
“The Order of the Blue
Robe.” We then slathered
our faces with petroleum
jelly and baby powder
and used my father’s
graphite copy pencil to
blacken our eyebrows.
We were just about ready
to perform the first of
ficial act of the Order of
the Blue Robe when my
mother called, “Come on,
girls - supper’s ready!”
You never saw two
young’uns move so fast
getting into the bathroom
to take all the stuff off our
faces. Some residue was
left, but all my mom said
was, “Y’all been play
ing with makeup again. I
hope you didn’t ruin any
of Aunt Dorris’s things.”
Dorris was my mother’s
sister who stayed with
us for a while, and never
did have much of a sense
of humor. She missed a
lot in her life because
she never married or had
children. She did love
her nieces and nephews,
but I am sure she stifled
her laughs when we did
outrageous things. Moms,
grannies and aunts still
try to remain calm in the
face of little desperadoes
who (I think) make life
interesting.
Kay S. Pedrotti has spent some 50
years writing for newspapers. She is
active in the Lamar County community
and currently serves as the president
of Lamar Arts. She lives in Milner with
her husband Bob Pedrotti.
Whatever you do in this life
don’t ever, ever ring the bell
BY CHARLES WHATLEY
cbwhatley@hotmail.com
Several years ago, I
read the book, “Make
Your Bed” by Admiral
William H. McRaven.
It started as a com
mencement speech at
the University of Texas,
exploded on YouTube,
and finally found it way
into the book. There are
ten lessons he learned
as a “tadpole,” or Navy
seal trainee. The first
lesson is, “If you want
to change yourself, and
maybe the world, make
your bed.” The second
lesson is “make a friend;
or, “If you want to change
yourself, and maybe the
world, find someone to
help you paddle.”
I was a bit surprised to
discover what held those
seven man seal teams
together through their
thirty months of training
... a ten foot rubber raft!
They carried it to their
barracks; they slept with
it. They carried it to the
mess hall; they ate with
it. They ran up and down
the beach with it; they
paddled it into the surf
and across miles and
miles of ocean.
If you want to drop out
of the training, you “ring
the bell” set up on the
beach for that purpose. It
sits there tempting you,
when you are cold and
sick and tired, to sim
ply ring it and go inside
where it’s warm and safe
and much, much more
comfortable.
Maybe you could
guess the tenth lesson
is, “Don’t ever, ever ring
the bell.” But 99% of the
men who enter the pre
liminary training don’t
even make it to the thirty
month training as tad
poles. And 25% of those
who make it to the next
level ring the bell... they
quit!
What keeps the others
from “ringing the bell?”
Maybe it’s the rest of the
team? They are famous
for their cohesiveness,
their integrity, their
physical endurance, and
their reputation as the
most skilled warriors in
the world. They start as
seven tadpoles and com
plete their training as a
“United States of America
Seal Team!”
John writes to the
church, that’s us, “Dear
friends, let us love one
another, for love comes
from God. Everyone who
loves has been born of
God and knows God.
Whoever does not love
does not know God,
because God is love.” (1
John 4:7-8) “And this is
love: that we walk in obe
dience to his commands.
As you have heard from
the beginning, his com
mand is that you walk in
love” (2 John 6). “I have
no greater joy than to
hear that my children are
walking in the truth” (3
John 4).
“Koinonia” is the
transliteration of a Greek
word meaning “fellow
ship and unity.” It’s the
secret of the Christian
church as we build our
community around fel
lowship and unity ...
this is not a “sappy,”
“syrupy,” “you make me
feel good” love; this is
a “what do you need?”
love. And you might
be interested to know
it was the final word
spelled by Karthik Nem-
mani, a young American
Indian boy from McKin
ney, Texas who won the
91st Scripps National
Spelling Bee... k-o-i-n-o-n-
i-a! Koinonia!
Charles ‘Buddy’ Whatley is a re
tired United Methodist pastor serving
Woodland and Bold Springs UMC and,
with Mary Ella, a missionary to the
Navajo Reservation in Arizona.
Pike County
Journal
Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.0. Box 789
16026 Barnesville St.
Zebulon, Ga. 30295
770.567.3446
The Pike County Journal
Reporter is the official
organ of Pike County, the
cities of Zebulon, Molena,
Meansville, Williamson
and Concord. It is
published weekly by
Hometown Newspapers
Inc. Second class
postage is paid at the
Zebulon, Ga Post Office.
Publishers: Walter and
Laura Geiger; staff:
Jennifer Taylor,
Brenda Sanchez and
Rachel McDaniel.
AT PIKE
BY DWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
January 21, 1921: As the paper went to press,
it was noted that Mr. Morgan Howard of Lamar
County resigned as a Pike County commissioner.
The people were glad of his resignation so that the
place might be filled by a Pike County man.
75 YEARS AGO
January 24,1946: F.L. Fackler of Meansville was
elected as chairman of the Pike BSA district commit
tee, succeeding A.W. Quattlebaum. BSA executive
Frank Dix spoke to 15 assembled Scouts and leaders
urging a pledge to promote Scouting in Pike.
50 YEARS AGO
January 21, 1971: The Pike board of education
issued a formal resolution thanking Paul W. Oxford
for his faithful, forthright and conscientious ser
vice. Oxford served 12 years on the board with the
last two years as chairman.
25 YEARS AGO
January 24,1996: Joint effort of the Zebulon
police department and Pike sheriff’s office solved the
burglary of a Concord grocery store. Two juveniles
were arrested after the car they were in was searched
and items from an apparent burglary found.