Newspaper Page Text
Page 4— Wednesday, September 29, 2021, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The Pledge Of Allegiance
1 pledge, allegiance, to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which
*it stands, one Nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-SEPTEMBER28,20ll
Mechanical failure was blamed for a July plane crash that
killed a Burke Medical Center physician. Dr. Thomas Wilson
was taking his single engine Mooney for a test run at Bush
Field when things went wrong, according to the National
Transportation Safety Board.
The Burke County High School Marching Band was in
vited to perform in London’s New Years Day Parade in 2013.
A special envoy was sent by Queen Elizabeth to deliver the
invitation in person.
State Rep. Gloria Frazier received a national award for
her leadership in the Georgia House of Representatives. The
Pacesetter Award was presented to Frazier on Capitol Hill
by the Women’s Legislative Lobby.
25 YEARS AGO-OCTOBER3,1996
Doug Day was appointed Burke County School Superin
tendent by the school board. He became the county’s first
appointed superintendent, but had served in the position since
1988 when he was first elected. He had been with the school
system for 32 years.
The Burke County Bears defeated Thomson 20-0 to remain
undefeated during the football season. They were ranked 11th
in the state by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Waynesboro Police Chief Eddie Allen said that radar
patrolling would become a priority in the city because of “a
lack of adherence to the law.”
50 YEARS AGO-SEPTEMBER29, 1971
Wardell (Buster) Holmes and Buddy Jones drowned in
Brier Creek when their fishing boat apparently overturned
Thursday, Sept. 23. Jones’ body was recovered Friday af
ternoon but Holmes, who had been employed by The True
Citizen/Chalker Publishing Company for 13 years, was not
found until Saturday.
Susan Hilliard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hilliard, was
named Miss Burke County Fair for 1971.
Former First B aptist Church pastor J. Harold Rowland was
leading a revival at Rosemont Baptist Church. He had been
instrumental in the founding of the church in 1963.
70 YEARS AGO-OCTOBER4,1971
Blanchard and Chance Equipment Company was named
as the local dealer of Willys Overland Motors, manufacturers
of Jeeps and Jeepsters.
Waynesboro native Leon H. Zalkow was teaching physical
chemistry at Georgia Tech. He was the brother of Mrs. Judy
Rubnitz of Mack’s Department Store.
Advertisers included Waynesboro Farm Equipment Com
pany, Parker-White Motors, Standard Pest Control, Jarvis
Drug Company and Tri-County Appliance Co.
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PARTY WENT
DOWN A RABBIT HOLE,
anc> alii ear was
THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT.
Don Lively
(This road trip is a little dif
ferent. / love to hit the highway.
But this time there's as much
need to go as there is desire.
I'm going through a transition
that I didn't ask for but it's still
happening. The best way to
clear my head is to be on the
open road. So, let's ride)
Dateline: Somewhere along
1-40, westbound.
I had just taken the third bite
of my second breakfast burrito
when I got the first whiff of
the feedlot that my route was
taking me within fifty yards
of. If you've never been near
a West Texas feedlot, I can't
recommend strongly enough
that you avoid it if at all pos
sible. There's a lot to love
about Texas, my sixth favorite
state, but close-to-the-interstate
feedlots are not part of the Lone
Star State's charm.
I would have thrown the
burrito away, but that would've
required letting the window
down which would have made
the stink even worse. So I
held my nose and finished my
breakfast when my olfactory
epithelium cleared.
I have a secret to share.
Not every mile of every
road trip through every state is
enjoyable.
Let me be even more blunt.
Between the Blessed South
and the area that I often refer
to as "Out West", there's simply
not that much to see regardless
of which route you ride.
It could be that I think that
way because, over the years,
I've always been so happy to he
headed from Colorado to Geor
gia, and these days from Geor
gia to Colorado, that I haven't
taken much time to explore the
other regions, even though I
have visited every state.
Perhaps I need to change that.
Maybe one of these years.
Anyway, the point of all that
is, on my many road trips over
the years, the first part of the
trip was usually spent hustling
to get to a point where the real
vacation begins.
As I create this week's scrib-
blings, I am currently on the
first leg of my latest road trip.
So, when scenery is scarce,
I make my own enjoyment, let
my mind wander, listen to great
music and pick up on small
things that make me think.
For instance, along the way
FIRST LEG
I passed a truck that had a
homemade sticker across the
top of the tailgate that said
"Road Warrior". That was cool,
but just below that was another
sticker aimed at women travel
ers. "Ladies, show me your
****". Now granted, I would
be the last person on Earth to
give another man advice about
how to meet women. I've never
been very good at it. But I sus
pect that imploring women to
expose themselves while trav
eling down the road at 80 miles
an hour doesn't seem like the
smoothest of moves.
Just saying.
Still, that may have been the
highlight of the first leg.
Somewhere in Arkansas I
saw a lone buzzard perched
atop a lone antenna attached to
the top of a lone, but huge silo
out in the middle of nowhere.
He had to have a magnificent
view of the surrounding farms
and ranches. I suppose a critter
that has to eat road kill for a liv
ing deserves a bit of happiness
from time to time.
I passed by a Stuckey's and
was tempted to stop. I hadn't
seen one in years. Long ago
Stuckey's was "the" place to
stop to fill your tank, fill your
belly and shop for souvenirs.
Mama would never let me buy
a tee shirt from Stuckey's that
said "Eat Here And Get Gas".
I wonder if they still sell
those?
I stopped at a rest stop and
walking back to my truck I
glanced down and saw an ant
bed shaped like a cross. Now
I know that when ants burrow
up under a section of sidewalk
where four corners meet, it
makes the cross. I've seen it
before. But I also believe that
there are no accidents in God's
creation and that His timing is
perfect. On this mind-clearing
road trip, I took that little ant
bed as a sign that everything is
going to be okay, one day.
As I hurried toward my va
cation destination I heard a
new song and one of the verses
smacked me.
"I can't recall the last time
that the highway gave me this
much peace of mind."
It reminded me that, "It's not
the destination, it's the journey."
Thank you Mr. Emerson.
Maybe it's time for me to
slow down and enjoy the get-
ting-there as much as I do the
being-there.
Maybe, as it's been said,
"Stop and smell the roses."
Fine with me.
Just no more feedlots, please.
Next week: Being there.
Michael N. Searles
The Alliance of Local Service
Organizations (ALSO) states
that an equitable society is a
pursuit that is desirable and
achievable. In their book, The
Spirit Level: Why More Equal
Societies Almost Always Do
Better, Richard Wilkinson and
Kate Pickett also confirmed this
idea. The authors demonstrate
that nearly every modern social
and environmental problem
such as ill-health, lack of com
munity life, violence, drugs,
obesity, mental illness, long
working hours and big prison
populations are more likely oc
cur in less equal societies. Our
economic system has over the
last 45 years yielded the lion
share of income gains from
America’s increased productiv
ity to the rich while the workers
who produced that wealth have
languished. The statistics are
startling with the top one-tenth
of one percent of earners own
ing more of the nation’s wealth
than the bottom 90%. This is
neither good for society nor
good for our democracy.
As a nation, we have a fron
tier experience unlike most oth
er countries. The frontier gave
little favor to those born into
wealth and those who were not.
Any person with pluck, energy,
and good fortune could make a
life for himself. People lived
and died disconnected from
their social status or place of
birth. The idea of arising from
lowly circumstances proved to
be a steppingstone in the folk
lore of equality. The words of
wisdom from the Bible, Benja
min Franklin’s Poor Richard’s
Almanac and a 19th century
visitor to our land laid the un
derpinnings.
Alexis de Tocqueville, the
French political philosopher
wrote an uplifting view of
American society in his classic
treatise Democracy in America.
His words were inspirational
to a young nation seeking its
footing. “America is the only
country in which it has been
possible to witness the natural
and tranquil growth of society,
and where the influence exer
cised on the future condition of
states by their origin is clearly
distinguishable.” After exten-
CREATINGAN EQUITABLE NATION
sive travels in the United States,
Tocqueville concluded that life
on the frontier without fixed
social organizations allowed
men in a visual sense to be
free and equal. This condition
generated a feeling of equality
among men and did not allow
the development of “territorial
aristocracy.”
It is upon this foundation
that Americans came to accept
that equality of opportunity
was the goal, not its equitable
distribution. We as a society
have come to accept the notion
of equality for all and ignore
how the system is intention
ally designed to reward certain
groups over others. In this line
of thinking, the rich deserve
their riches and the poor de
serve their destitution. All of
the blame is at the feet of those
who have not achieved. The
list of invectives can cover a
page: lazy, self-destructive,
need for instant gratification,
weak character, little or no vi
sion, ambitionless, beggarly,
deprived, depraved, and neces
sitous among others. These
words and concepts are not only
expressed by those who have
achieved but expressed and
accepted by those who failed
to make the mark.
The individual is the center
of our criticism and never a
system designed to reward
some and punish others. These
and other concepts represent
stumbling blocks in reaching
a common acceptance of and
desire for equity. Can we fully
accept our own success as the
result of something other than
hard work, perseverance, and
talent? Can we accept our
own good fortune as something
denied a person of equal talent
and ability? It requires insight
and humility to see the need for
structural changes. According
to Stanford University Educa
tion Professor David Labaree,
success and achievement rep
resent a set of happy circum
stances that emerged from the
accommodation structure you
traversed. We must want an
equitable society to achieve it.
We must be willing to sacrifice
privilege and agree to sit at the
table of brotherhood and exam
ine our own circumstances and
listen to those of others. Until
we can do this, both equality
and equity will be a fanciful
dream.