Newspaper Page Text
Page A—Wednesday, July 6, 2022, 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-JULY 11,2012
A section of U.S. Highway 25 was to be dedicated in
memory of longtime legislator and judge Preston B. Lewis, Jr.
He had served six terms in the Georgia House of Representa
tive, one term in the State Senate and three decades as Judge
of the Juvenile Court.
At the request of Chief Alfonzo Williams, the Waynesboro
City Council removed Administrator Jerry Coalson from
oversight of the Waynesboro Police Department. Williams
said he could run his agency more effectively if he answered
directly to the council.
Johnny Jenkins was recognized by the Waynesboro Ex
change Club for his many years of service to the organization.
The club also installed Kristi Griffin as its new president.
25 YEARS AGO-JULY 9,1997
568 workers lost their jobs when the Sunlite Casual Fur
niture (formerly Sunbeam) closed without notice. U.S.I., the
plant’s parent company, also closed several other plants around
the country, consolidating operations in a plant in Arkansas.
Outgoing Rotary Club president Clifford Lewis passed the
gavel to the club’s incoming leader, Walter Degenhardt. The
club also recognized Rotarian Gloria Cochran for her service
to the club during its 75th anniversary celebration.
For the first time, local residents would have an opportunity
to view the proposed widening program for Highway 25 north
and voice their opinions on the project. A public hearing was
scheduled at the Burke County High School.
50 YEARS AGO-JULY 5,1972
Mayor Paul Stone said that a proposal for the sale of li
quor in the city was being prepared for approval by the city
council. The proposal would face approval in a referendum
by city voters.
Julian David Cannon accepted the position as Headmaster
of Edmund Burke Academy. He had 21 years of experience
in teaching and school administration.
Patricia Warthen, Hilton Powell, Connie Perry and Gloria
McCullough were among the top winners in recent 4-H Dis
trict competition
70 YEARS AGO - JULY 10,1952
Ed Dunnavant was installed as the new president of the
Waynesboro Exchange Club. Charles Economos was vice-
president and Judson Thompson was secretary-treasurer.
Dr. D.L. Butterfield, director of the Burke County Health
Department, was the guest speaker at the Waynesboro Rotary
Club.
George T. Holloway, L.L. Chandler and J. Rife English
announced the organization of the Midville Development
Company. The company’s purpose was to bring manufacturing
jobs to the community.
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IN AMERICA
(Re-printed and updated from
2010)
Suddenly, it’s very quiet
around here.
Everybody’s gone and,being
as how I live alone, after all the
chatter and the debate and the
discussion, the silence is nearly
deafening.
It’s over for another year.
The Fourth has come and
gone.
The Fourth.
In my family, everybody
knows immediately what it
means when someone refers
to “the Fourth”. It might be
mentioned in December when
family members gather for the
Holidays. Or somebody might
bring up “the Fourth” at a
wedding or a funeral or a baby
shower or any other myriad of
events that occur in my family
throughout any given year.
Sure, every month on the
modern calendar has a fourth
day. But “THE Fourth 11 means
only one thing among my clan
members.
Family reunion.
I long ago lost track of how
many members our family
actually has but suffice to say,
if they all actually showed up
The challenge of uniting the
original thirteen colonies and
the states that followed was a
monumental one. Each colony
and territory had its own make
up, population, concerns, and
political outlook. Convincing
each colony to relinquish its
sovereignty required discus
sion, debate, and compromise.
The reason there are com
promises in the U.S. Constitu
tion reflects the difficulty in
reconciling political differenc
es. In the end, we abandoned
the Articles of Confederation
and adopted the United States
Constitution. Today, we can
see with our own eyes the dif
ficulties of harmonizing differ
ent patterns of thought.
With the U.S. Supreme
Court overturning Roe v. Wade,
states plan to either make abor
tions illegal or make their
states havens for the procedure.
This issue not only engages
politics but involves private
for the festivities, we’d have to
roast five hogs instead of the
traditional two.
We’re a prolific bunch, no
doubt.
My family took Genesis to
heart when God commanded
that we “go forth and multiply”.
The evidence is in the numbers.
I have forty-three first cousins.
Counting my sibs and me, that’s
forty-seven of our generation.
Forty-seven.
That’s just on Daddy’s side.
You can imagine how many
more my generation has pro
duced.
In the past I’ve often won
dered, as I sweltered through
the Fourth in ninety-eight de
gree heat and a gazillion per
cent humidity, why my ances
tors didn’t decide to have our
annual get-together on Thanks
giving instead of on the hottest
day of the year, Independence
Day. Of course, the answer is
obvious. You won’t find a more
patriotic family in America, so,
the Fourth of July must have
seemed the obvious choice
when the plan was hatched over
ninety years ago.
This year, as always, it was
hot and steamy and the gnats
were out and about,but it didn’t
dissuade my family one bit.
The pork barbecue with all the
fixings was perfect, the dessert
table was piled high with every
sugary concoction imaginable
and the freshly squeezed lem
onade and sweet tea rounded
out the traditional reunion meal.
Tradition, the principal in
gredient in every true Southern
family, can be found in abun
dance at our gathering.
The blowing of the ancient
conch shell by a young male
member of the family announc
es that dinner is ready. Come
and get it.
The grounds and pavilions
decorated with red, white and
blue banners and streamers sig
nify the love of country every
member takes pride in.
The swimming hole attracts
kids of all ages, a few months
old to over sixty. The water is
cold, clear and inviting.
Of course, not all traditions
are happy ones, like the annual
roll call of the ones who’ve
gone on before us.
That part’s a little tough.
So many of the loved ones
who we thought would never
die are in Heaven now, like my
Uncle Cuz who exhorted us all
to be better humans, better fam
ily members, better Christians.
And our family poet laureate,
Aunt Judy, always ready with
new verses, also gone.
Uncle Hayward always
parked his car at the top of the
clay road that leads to The Pond
because at some point half a
century ago it rained on the 4th
and cars couldn’t get up the hill.
He’s gone too.
And Mama and Daddy.
It will never be the same
without her caramel cake and
peach cobbler, and his made-
from-scratch barbecue sauce.
Five sweet souls crossed the
river.
Bittersweet.
But, not to worry, the family
will continue because through
the years, every year, we’ve
added many new babies to our
number.
Like I said, prolific.
We’re more than keeping
pace.
Some of those very same very
young children who swam in
the swimming hole this year
will one day watch their own
kids swimming in those same
waters.
That’s tradition.
I mentioned the quiet. That’s
a result of one of the final
yearly traditions that this time
took place at my new home.
The annual Trivial Pursuit butt
whupping that my sibs and I
put on another line of the fam
ily. That’s where the chatter,
debate and discussion comes
in. For some reason they keep
coming back every year trying
to beat us.
Maybe next year.
Until then, my family, like
yours, will continue to love and
honor America and to celebrate
life in our great country every
day of the year.
Happy Birthday U.S .A.
Michael N. Searles
companies as well. Some
companies will continue to
cover abortions in their health
insurance policies and provide
transportation to employees in
need of abortion services from
states with greater restrictions
to more lenient states.
There will likely be na
tionwide marches, demonstra
tions, and protests in favor of
a woman’s right to choose and
those opposed to abortions.
A divided Congress will be
unable to act with some favor
ing a woman’s right to choose
while others count themselves
as pro-life. Some have recom
mended the President issue
an executive order to provide
safe abortions for federal em
ployees at military hospitals.
Yet, abortions are just one of
the issues that divide us. How
do we address gun violence in
America in a way that brings
us together? While a majority
of Americans supports mea
sures to make gun safety the
law of the land, others see any
restrictions as a slippery slope
toward the loss of the Second
Amendment. The Senate once
known as the cooling saucer
now is as hot as the House
THE UN-TIED STATES OF AMERICA
of Representatives. The U.S.
Supreme Court once believed
to be a repository of reasonable
and socially sensitive justices is
no longer that kind of institu
tion. What happens when salt
loses it savor?
We once lived in a society
that seemed to have mastered
the art and practice of democ
racy. We weathered wars,
depression, civil conflict and
pandemics, and overcame them
all. The guardrails and frame
work that we thought were
permanent now appear to be
illusory. The Supreme Court
has had justices with various
points of view while making
sure the ship of state did not list
to one side or the other. Their
decisions had a settling effect
on the population and provided
the court with a high degree of
support and approval.
In the past, United States
presidents abided by the rule
that any gift given with a value
of $415 or more was a gift to
the nation. This long estab
lished practice is consistent
with the Emoluments Clause
of the Constitution that places
limits on what the president
can receive from foreign gov
ernments. Former President
Trump received gifts that were
not placed on the Department
of State’s public list as required.
Inquiries as to where these
items are located have not pro
duced any satisfactory answers.
President Trump also took with
him classified documents as he
left the White House. How
ever, upon request, Trump did
return to the National Archives
and Records Administration 15
boxes of letters and documents.
It is disturbing that the records
were taken in the first place,
but what is far more disturbing
is that a number of Americans
apparently do not care. A
president who was impeached
twice and is now being investi
gated for the January 6 assault
on the Capitol seems to be the
choice of many Republicans to
be president again. The Found
ing Fathers who attempted to
establish a democratic republic
would be amazed that so many
Americans support autocracy.
Each generation is faced with
its own test of faith. Our test
is to see if government of the
people, by the people, for the
people shall not perish from
the earth.