Newspaper Page Text
Page 4— Wednesday, October 5, 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 - OCTOBER 10,2012
Juvenile Court Judge Doug Flanagan warned that he
would be strictly enforcing penalties against teens commit
ting felonies.
Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey was scheduled to be
the Grand Marshall of the Back to Keysville Parade. Georgia
Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond was the event’s
keynote speaker.
Cam Parker was named as the new Area Manager for
Georgia Power. The Valdosta native had been with the
company since 1980.
25 YEARS AGO-OCTOBER8,1997
In a report issued by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation,
Burke County schools ranked in the bottom half of the state
in three different “report cards.”
The City of Waynesboro’s consulting engineer said it
would take about $20,000 to correct water discoloration
problems in the city.
A list of registered sex offenders living in the county was
available for the first time after passage of “Megan’s Law”
by the Georgia General Assembly.
50 YEARS AGO - OCTOBER 4,1972
A 103-page report issued by the CSRA Planning and De
velopment Commission strongly recommended that Burke
County adopt zoning and planning ordinances to better deal
with the anticipated growth from the construction of Plant
Vogtle.
Ann Evans of Midville was crowned Miss Burke County
Fair. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Evans.
Georgia Power submitted an application to the Atomic En
ergy Commission for the construction permit and operating
license for the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant here.
70 YEARS AGO-OCTOBER9,1952
The Waynesboro City Council signed a contract with the
John J. Harte Co. of Atlanta for an engineering survey and
plans for a natural gas system in the city.
Local insurance agent O. B. Johnson was elected chair
man of the “Eisenhower for President” movement in Burke
County. W.M. Smith was secretary and Pratt DeLoach was
treasurer.
The Allen-Wynne Pharmacy in Waynesboro announced
plans for an “Open House” at its newly renovated building
on Liberty Street.
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AMEWCMKOlMly
mail u,We viusr
OOMT GETTHAT
k HAIRCUT.
Don Lively
(Reprinted from 2016)
I lost my temper, I admit it.
It didn’t do any good.
Or any harm.
Nobody on Earth heard what
I said that day during rush
hour. There were, thankfully,
no witnesses. And, I didn’t act
on my first impulse, which was
to ram the car being driven by
the person to whom my anger
would have been directed, had
he been able to hear me.
I was in traffic that was al
ready backed up a mile. I was
late for a meeting. I left in
plenty of time to get there, but,
wrecks and a seemingly eternal,
never-ending construction zone
slowed me down.
And then it happened.
A car came off of a side street,
basically cut me off, and eased
into the one lane back-up.
I knew immediately that there
would be a problem.
One thing I know about living
in the Blessed South, if a driver
has his left arm hanging out of
the driver-side window, and has
a cigarette hanging from his fin
gers , he’s not in any hurry, cause
driving the speed limit might
allow the wind to extinguish his
precious Marlboro.
This driver met the criteria.
Why in the world, during the
busiest hour of the day, would
anybody decide to take a lei
surely drive, 15 miles an hour
below the already extremely
low posted speed limit?
Why indeed.
If you live around these parts,
you know all about that arm
hanging, traffic blocking fellow.
Here are a few other things I
know about life in our neck of
the woods.
I know that for the next few
months I will have to endure the
onslaught of all things pumpkin.
Specifically, all things pump-
kinspice. I’ve never gotten the
attraction, the dang near obses
sion, that occurs every Autumn
when pumpkins ripen. Pump
kins , in my humble opinion, are
right up there with citrons when
it comes to tasteless and useless
vine grown fruit. Y’all enjoy it
till you’re orange in the face,
really, have at it. But, please,
don’t insist I try the pumpkin
spice flavored barbecue sauce
or the pickled pumpkin and
bologna sandwich.
I won’t like it, I assure you.
I also know that weekends
around here mean one thing.
I JUST KNOW
Football.
Yes, even when your team is
already technically out of the
running for any kind of cham
pionship, football is still king.
There is full bore tailgating
two hours before high school
home games. All day tailgating
for college home games. And
Sunday afternoon, snooze-and-
snack, snack and snooze, mara
thon TV binges for the pros. It
was once said that baseball was
America’s favorite pastime. I’m
not sure that was true at any
time in my lifetime, but, it’s not
true these days.
It’s football.
I know, whether I drive the
state highways, the county two
lanes or the dirt roads, occa
sionally I’m going to get caught
behind some huge piece of farm
equipment. Cultivators early
Spring, sprayers and spread
ers all Summer, combines and
pickers in the Fall. It’s a small
price to pay for living in an agri
cultural mecca like ours. Unlike
the above-described arm hang
ing slowpoke, the operators of
the farm equipment are moving
as fast and as safely as they pos
sibly can and they never, ever
cause rush hour backups.
Take your time, neighbor.
I know that if I need to find
pretty much any friend or rela
tive, on Sunday morning, I just
need one piece of information.
The church they attend.
Because, down here below
the Mason-Dixon line, pretty
much any friend or relative that
I can think of does go to church
somewhere. Sunday School
first, worship services directly
after, are as integral a part of life
in the South as grits and gravy.
And, when you meet somebody
new, after the first couple of
inquiries about who they’re
kin to and where they work,
the question usually comes up
pretty quick.
“Where do you go to church?”
It’s simply assumed that
everybody attends services
somewhere.
I know that if you drive more
than a few miles around here
you’re likely to see a deceased
deer reposing beside the road.
I also know, if it’s a buck
with decent antlers, in the time
it takes me to run home and get
my saw, somebody will beat me
to those antlers.
I know folks around here
use deer antlers for all sorts of
things.
There are plenty of other
things I know about our home
land, but, they’ll have to wait,
cause I’ve just been summoned
to dinner.
Lord, please, nothing pump
kin spice flavored.
.J Michael N. Searles
ARE YOU WOKE?
If someone asked if you were
“woke,” your response might
depend on whether it came from
a friend or a foe. The dictionary
definition of woke is to be alert
to injustice and discrimination
in society, especially racism.
However, conservatives have
converted the word woke into a
term of derision for those who
hold progressive views that are
presumed to be performative
or phony.
The misuse of woke has
ignited a firestorm from those
who see change as danger
ous. When folks watched their
television on May 25, 2020,
and saw the killing of George
Floyd, there was an awakening.
People of all races marched and
shouted, “Black Lives Matter.”
Others saw it as an opportunity
to highlight deeply inculcated
prejudices. Blue Lives Matter
and All Lives Matter popped
up suggesting that Black Lives
Matter protesters were dimin
ishing the lives of others.
Redressing grievances is
problematic in America, so
whenever a group raises past
injustices, there are those who
deny the injustice, complain
about its relevance or state that
they should not be personally
blamed. Many of us are famil
iar with the story of “Rip Van
Winkle,” written in 1819 by
American author Washington
Irving. Through a series of
events, Rip Van Winkle imbibes
a mysterious liquor and falls
asleep only to awaken 20 years
later. He missed the American
Revolution and believes the
American Colonies are under
the authority of the King of
England. He also discovers his
village is much larger than he
remembers and populated with
people he did not recognize and
who did not recognize him.
Many Americans have fallen
asleep not realizing the world
has changed around them. New
concepts, new ideas, different
customs, and unfamiliar people
now inhabit our country.
These unfamiliar people refer
to themselves as Americans, but
they do not look like Americans
of yesteryear. The ideas they
express seem to contrast with
older ideas and visions. We
should remind ourselves that
America is composed of a vast
array of traditions. In 1885,
Captain George Thatcher draft
ed a Pledge of Allegiance that
was revised in 1892 by Frances
Bellamy. Bellamy’s version of
the pledge with few modifica
tions was formally adopted in
1945 by Congress and given the
official name, The Pledge of Al
legiance. Americans recite the
Pledge in schools and at various
events across the nation. In
1954, the words “under God”
were added.
While the Pledge is learned
and recited by rote, the words
call us to a purpose greater
than a mere recitation. The
Pledge commits our lives to
the pursuit of liberty and justice
for all. The phrase “for all” re
quires a look past color, gender,
race,economic status,religious
background, and political ideol
ogy. While the United States is
unique in having a pledge to a
flag, it importantly is commit
ted to the pursuit of justice for
everyone. In the United King
dom, on becoming a British
citizen, the initiate swears or
affirms allegiance to the King,
his heirs and successors, and
additionally makes a pledge to
follow the laws of the county
and uphold democratic values.
President Lincoln, while
extolling the virtues of the
Constitution and Union said,
“There is something back of
these, entwining itself more
closely about the human heart.
That something is the principle
of “Liberty for all” the principle
that clears the path for all-gives
hope to all-and by consequence,
enterprise and industry to all.”
We need the kind of awakening
that brings hope to the hopeless
and love to the unlovable. Af
rican Americans for many years
have been Woke and required to
Stay Woke to stay alive.
Blues and folk musician Hud-
die Ledbetter, better known as
Lead Belly, in 1938 reminded
all who would listen to stay
woke in a song about the Scotts-
boroBoys. The song described
the 1931 saga of a group of nine
black teenagers in Scottsboro,
Alabama falsely accused
of raping two white women.
America must stay Woke to live
out its creed that all people are
created equal and that we all
should not sit on our laurels but
seek a more perfect union.