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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Opinions
Another defeat for military commanders, politicians
W atching the
retreat of
our military
forces from Afghani
stan in recent days has
reminded me, as it has
many others, of a similar
retreat out of Saigon and
the hellhole that was
Vietnam.
Make no mistake
about it, we retreated
from Afghanistan and
a sloppy retreat it was.
We abruptly cut off air,
ground and logistical
support for the Afghan
military we trained and
they wilted like a daisy in
the desert sun, changing
into their tribal clothing
and fading into the indig
enous population where
tribes have been at war
since time began.
We left behind fully op
erational bases, aircraft,
drones, vast numbers
of small arms and Allah
only knows what all else.
Terrorists now have even
more of our own equip
ment to use against us
and they will. But, worst
of all, we left behind
American citizens and
Afghani nationals who
had assisted us openly
and covertly.
The American military
was undefeated until
Korea. That war ended
in a stalemate and we
still spend trillions to
maintain a demilitarized
zone there to shore up
the South Korean govern
ment.
Vietnam was our first
loss. We poured troops
into the country. We
bombed and napalmed
it endlessly. We
defoliated its
jungles with
Agent Orange
but our com
manders and
political leaders
never worked
up the will to
win. Soldiers
fought valiantly
to take hills in
the middle of
nowhere only
to be ordered
to leave, send
home their
dead and then be or
dered to retake the same
hill the next day.
Casualty lists sent
back home grew and
grew. Over 58,000 Ameri
can troops died there.
Tens of thousands
returned home maimed
either physi
cally, mentally
or both. Ameri
cans lost their
taste for the
war and the
military itself.
That exact
sentiment put
the final nails
in the coffins
of military col
leges around
the country
including Gor
don right here
at home.
1 remember watch
ing on TV as bulldozers
pushed Huey choppers
off the decks of aircraft
carriers into the ocean in
order to take on rescued
Vietnamese as we pulled
out.
The visual of those
choppers flying into and
out of the rooftop pad
atop our embassy while
Saigon was laid siege
to were unforgettable.
Despite the spin given
the situation, we lost the
Vietnam war.
Now we have almost
the exact same situation
in Afghanistan - a military
defeat and a hasty retreat
all because commanders
and politicians lacked the
will to win.
We should never have
sent the first soldier to
Vietnam. Nothing was
achieved there militar
ily or geopolitically.
The same is true for
Afghanistan, we lost and
nothing was gained from
the deaths of over 6,000
soldiers and military con
tractors. Two wars lost.
Those defeats, howev
er, cannot be laid at the
feet of American service
men and women. They
followed orders. They
killed and got killed.
They maimed and got
maimed. All for nothing!
The losses in Viet
nam and Afghanistan
fall squarely on those in
Washington, DC. There
is considerable blood on
their hands.
Remember that blood
the next time they want
to send ‘military advi
sors’ to some Godfor
saken place and do your
best to stop them.
Walter Geiger is the editor and
publisher of the Pike County Journal
Reporter and The Herald Gazette in
Barnesville. He can be reached at
news @ barnesville.com.
GEIGER’S
COUNTER
Walter Geiger
Editor & Publisher
LETTERS T<
THE EDITOR
Prayer for our nation
Dear Heavenly Fa
ther, we are moved by
the alarming news and
crisis that our country
is facing.
This is the greatest
nation in the world,
founded in the belief
that “In God We Trust”
and the “Land of the
Free” has been at
tacked. Please have
mercy on the suffer
ing, hurting and in
fear and give wisdom
and strength to those
who die assisting the
injured. Please gra
ciously accept all those
lost in this terrible
tragedy into eternal life
in Heaven with you, our
Almighty Father.
May the forces of
evil be broken by your
power and may we
humble before thee,
our strength and refuge.
Give wisdom to our
president, our nation’s
leaders and the lead
ers of all the countries
of the world, bring
your comforting peace
through the power of
your Holy Spirit. Help
us here to reach to
those that have been af
fected by this tragedy.
In the name of our
Lord and Savior, Christ
Jesus. Amen.
WRITTEN BY THE LATE
HELEN MANGHAM
eroe$\
Thank you to local
health care workers
1 want to express
my gratitude to all the
health care workers
at Webstar Regional in
Griffin and Navicent
Medical in Macon for
caring for my dad Dick
Knotts.
God Bless the emer
gency room workers,
the transporters, the
nurses who took my
calls day and night, and
everyone who patiently
spoke to me, explaining
things 1 couldn’t com
prehend and guiding
me on a hard journey.
Thank you to neigh
bors and friends for
their kind deeds and to
a young nurse at Har
bor View in Thomaston
for her strong embrace
and gentle spirit at the
end. He is in his eternal
heavenly garden, har
vesting sweet corn.
SINCERELY,
NANCY J. STAUFFER
Overcoming life’s unavoidable adversity
BY BRYAN GOLDEN
Bryan@columnist.com
Adversity is an
unavoidable part of
life. Death of a loved one,
breakup of a relation
ship, malicious action by
another, job loss, natural
disaster, or any other
undesirable event are all
circumstances people
encounter. Events hap
pen that are beyond our
control.
Successfully overcom
ing adversity is essential
for a healthy life. Over
coming adversity builds
mental strength, charac
ter and endurance. You
develop in ways that
would not otherwise be
possible.
When undesirable
incidents occur, you want
to avoid the pitfall of the
past and becoming mired
in the would of, could
of, or should of trap. It’s
done and over. Adversity
is overcome by moving
forward.
Nothing you can do,
say, think or feel will ever
change the past. Wal
lowing in feelings of
guilt, regret or despair
will diminish the pres
ent and compromise the
future. Although it’s dif
ficult to accept unpleas
ant events, you have no
choice, they have already
occurred. The
goal is to adjust
your outlook
to enable you
to function and
move ahead.
Adverse re
actions are not
unusual when
faced with ad
versity. Feelings
of denial, sick
ness, giving up, retribu
tion, being overwhelmed,
inactivity, anger, guilt,
and “why me” are not
uncommon. These reac
tions are counter-produc
tive causing you to feel
worse. Anger or bitter
ness poisons you and
impedes your recovery.
You have control over
your reaction to adversi
ty. You have been con
ditioned by how others
respond to unpleasant
circumstances. How
ever, most people aren’t
a good role model for
effectively dealing with
adversity.
Adverse situations
can be divided into
three categories; events
you have no control
or influence over, situ
ations resulting from
decisions you made, and
circumstances caused
by someone else’s ac
tions. Effort spent on
lamenting the past drains
you of energy needed to
handle the pres
ent and plan for
the future. Your
energy is best
spent ensuring
that you will be
OK.
After experi
encing a loss, a
period of griev
ing is normal
but should not
become a way of life. Ev
erything in life is tempo
rary. What varies is the
timing. As much as you
may miss someone, there
are people who depend
on and need you. Fo
cusing on the needs of
others is an effective and
positive way to move
forward.
Perhaps you are
unhappy with the re
sults from your deci
sions. Everyone makes
bad calls. There are no
“do-overs” - life goes
on. How do you get back
on track?
Learn from your
experiences and keep
going. Inaction will cause
you to feel worse.
Channeling your ener
gy into positive action is
one of the best cures for
being disheartened. For
example, if you’ve lost a
job, immediately begin
the process of getting
another one. No matter
how bad unemployment
is, the odds are always
weighted heavily in your
favor. Even if the unem
ployment rate was an
astronomical 15% you
have an 85% chance of
finding a job.
If a relationship has
ended without any
chance of reconciliation,
take comfort in the fact
that there are numer
ous people in the same
boat. Get out, circulate,
and meet people.
If you’ve made a bad
decision and are un
happy with your cir
cumstances, resolve to
change direction. Effect
ing a correction can be
difficult, but persisting
in an unhappy state is
torture.
Everyone encoun
ters adversity. No one
is ever singled out. No
one knows why some
things happen, they just
do. Some decide to re
gain their footing, catch
their breath and keep
walking forward. Others
choose to give up.
Each time you over
come adversity you get
stronger and wiser and
can teach others by ex
ample how to do it also.
Bryan Golden is the author of
“Dare to Live Without Limits.” Contact
Bryan at Bryan@columnist.com or
visit DareToLiveWithoutLimits.com.
BRYAN GOLDEN
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Pike County
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Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.O. Box 789
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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
August 26, 1921: The Bluff Springs camp meet
ing had another successful year, a six-day event
that closed back in mid-August. Apropos to the
annual meeting, the last words of Uncle Tony Lif-
sey before he departed this life were that the Bluff
Springs Camp not be allowed to go down.
75 YEARS AGO
August 29,1946: New additions to Pike schools
faculty include Mrs. J.M. Wright, formerly of Zebulon,
who joined the Concord High School faculty but taught
elementary grades. The other was Mrs. M.E. King join
ing Hollonville to teach fourth to sixth grades.
50 YEARS AGO
August 27,1971: Eighty Pike teachers welcomed
1,600 students for the first day of school on Aug. 26.
The article introduced the reading public to the fac
ulties and school staff system-wide. Wayne Newton
replaced Ted Guthrie as high school principal.
25 YEARS AGO
August 28, 1996: The Pike County school sys
tem had a record number of students when doors
opened Monday, August 26 as 2,313 students were
enrolled, an increase from last year of 84 students.