Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, May 24, 2023, 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-MAY 29,2013
Joseph Frederick Oglesby, 35, was arrested for brandishing
a rifle and threatening to kill his ex wife at the Department
of Family and Children Services office here. The incident
took place during a visitation session.
The EBA Spartans baseball team advanced to the GISA
Class AA state finals after defeating Frederica Academy in
two straight games.
Representatives from Whole Foods in Atlanta visited Byne
Blueberry Farms here to see firsthand the farm’s organic
blueberry production.
25 YEARS AGO-MAY 27,1998
Burke County Tax Commissioner Cynthia McManus said
that at least $1 million in back taxes was owed to the county
by more than 5,200 taxpayers. She said their names would
soon be published in The True Citizen.
The 69 Burke Countians who died fighting for our country
were honored at the annual Memorial Day ceremony at the
courthouse. World War II veteran Rev. Henry Erwin was
the speaker.
Prominent architect John W. Sandeford, a native of Mid-
ville, died at the age of 73. A resident of Augusta, he had
served as president of the local chapter of the American
Institute of Architects.
50 YEARS AGO-MAY 23,1973
Dr. E.R. Hensley was elected to membership in the Ameri
can Academy of Family Practice. The AAFP is the second
oldest national medical association.
Abook, “Grave Markers of Burke County,” was scheduled
to be published by Historic Preservation Associates. It was
compiled by Dorothy Collins Odom, Lillian Lewis Powell
and Albert M. Hillhouse.
The Waynesboro Garden Club celebrated its 75th anniver
sary. The club was organized in 1897.
70 YEARS AGO-MAY 28,1953
Robert E. Wills of Waynesboro was elected as governor of
the Georgia District of Civitans. A former POW in Germany
during World War II, he had been a distinguished business
and civic leader here since the war ended.
C.L. Yeomans was appointed as the Central of Georgia
Railroad Agent here.
The night train to Augusta was discontinued, forcing
The True Citizen to go to press earlier in the week so that
subscribers in the northern part of the county could get their
papers by Friday morning.
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Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
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Don Lively
I’m about to date myself with
a revelation.
I’m old enough to remember
when most of the roads in our
neck of the woods, with the ex
ceptions of the state highways,
were dirt.
In other parts of the country
unpaved roads are referred to
as gravel roads, when some
thing other than the dirt that’s
been there since time began
was hauled in to pack it. Our
unpaved roads are normally
packed with sand and clay
so I suppose they could be
called gravel too, but this is the
Blessed South, so we’ll just call
them dirt roads.
From the time I was born
until I was in my early teens,
I suspect that I moved through
my young life more on dirt
roads than I did on pavement,
whether it was going to school,
to church, or to visit relatives.
A little bit of research tells
me that the first paved road in
America was built in Newark,
New Jersey in 1870. It wasn’t
until 1915 that Georgia got into
the paving business, and at the
same time boosted tourism and
road-tripping tremendously,
when our state joined several
others to form the Dixie High
way Association. That massive
project, which comprised nu
merous north-to-south routes,
connected northern Michigan
to southern Florida while pass
ing through several other states.
The entire route would even
tually be paved with a fairly
new-fangled product known as
asphalt.
America would never be the
same.
Most of the roads that made
up the Dixie Highway still exist
in some form. I’ve traveled on
them often and you probably
have too. And while I appreci
ate the convenience of paved
roads as much as the next fel
low, I still love to explore the
dirt roads that endure.
I once discovered, quite by
fortunate miscalculation, a dirt
road high in the Rockies that bi
sected a large free-range sheep
ranch. As I drove over a rise I
was treated to the sight of hun
dreds, maybe a thousand sheep,
wandering and grazing on both
sides of the dirt road. I took my
time driving through the herd
and at the end of the road, liter
ally the end, I came upon one
of the most spectacular views
ON THE DIRT
I’d ever seen, even after having
lived near there for half of my
life. The road ended at a deep,
tree lined canyon with a river
winding through the valley far
below. I’d have never seen it if
not for a dirt road.
When I was a young Bible
student at a college in west
Texas, I didn’t know many peo
ple and spent many weekends
either bored out of my mind,
or exploring the huge Lone Star
State. One Friday after class I
headed to Big Bend National
Park, several hours drive away.
On Saturday morning I entered
the park looking for dirt roads.
The first one I found had a sign
warning “four-wheel vehicles
required”. I was driving a 1974
Gran Torino so I promptly ig
nored the sign and proceeded.
It was a great decision. Driv
ing gingerly, I saw views of
the Chisos Mountains and the
Trans-Pecos Desert that I would
not have seen from the high
way, and I never bottomed out.
On my epic trip to Scotland,
I spent most of the 2000 plus
miles that I drove on paved
roads, due to my unfamiliarity
with British law, but one day I
ran across an extremely inter
esting looking dirt road. There
were no signs so I didn’t know
if it was private or whether or
not I’d be trespassing, but, be
ing the curious fellow I am, I
turned in. I was rewarded with
an up-close encounter with
three superb examples of the
famous Highland cattle. One of
them was standing in a stream
so close to me that I could have
petted him had I not been too
terrified to try. I settled for tak
ing several pictures that I still
treasure today.
I drove down a remote dirt
road in Alaska that ended at a
small lake and about five min
utes after I got out of the rental
car to explore, not another hu
man for miles, I heard the most
ungodly, non-human sound I’ve
ever heard, presumably from a
grizzly growling. I beat cheeks
back to the car and didn’t stick
around to introduce myself.
In Canada, on yet another
remote dirt road, I watched
a moose ease into a lake and
swim across. It was magnifi
cent.
I love dirt roads, did I men
tion that?
So, Lord, speaking for my
self and many other Southern
country boys and girls, we’ll
look forward to walking those
“Streets O’ Gold”, but we’re
hoping for some Heavenly dirt
roads too.
Thank You, in advance.
Michael N. Searles
Togetherness is defined as the
state of being close to another
person or other people associ
ated with happy feelings of
affection and closeness, espe
cially friends and family.
Togetherness often is derided
and associated with excessive
and artificial feelings of con
nection. Yet, we need social
connection to live full and
complete lives. Our very nature
required us to evolve into social
beings since dependence on and
cooperation with each other
enhanced our ability to survive
under harsh environmental cir
cumstances.
In society today, we still need
to affiliate with others and the
lack of that connection can lead
to mental problems including
loneliness. We have had our
work, church attendance, fam
ily gatherings, social and civic
organizations, and recreational
activities as the ways to con
nect and meet our social and
psychological needs. A trend
toward less social interaction
has broadened the social gaps
and the COVID pandemic made
matters worse.
The evidence is before us.
Church membership in the U.S.
has declined significantly in the
past two decades, from 69%
in 1998-2000 to 52% in 2016-
2018. This decline is mainly
due to the increasing number
of Americans who have no re
ligious preference, which rose
from 8% to 21 % in the same pe
riod. This trend is also reflected
in the lower church membership
rates among younger genera
tions compared to older ones.
The decline in church mem
bership is consistent with lower
church attendance and less
interest in organized religion.
The decline has been more rapid
since 1999, when the church
membership rate was still 70%.
This decline is not exclu
sively related to church mem
bership and participation. It
was Alexis de Tocqueville who
in his insightful Democracy in
America (1835-40) examined
the country’s democratic revo
lution and observed the impor
tant role clubs played in our
society. Membership records
of the PTA, the Elks club, the
League of Women Voters, the
Red Cross, labor unions, and
even bowling leagues show that
participation in many conven
tional voluntary associations
TOGETHERNESS
has declined by roughly 25
percent to 50 percent over the
last two to three decades.
Surveys show sharp declines
in many measures of collective
political participation, includ
ing attending a rally or speech,
attending a meeting on town or
school affairs (off 39 percent),
or working for a political party
(off 56 percent). Much of this
data was showcased in Robert
Putnam’s book, Bowling Alone:
The Collapse and Revival of
American Community. Putnam
documents attendance in civic
and service organizations de
clined 58 percent in the period
1975-2000 a trend that contin
ued and accelerated in the 21st
century.
Even in terms of family get-
togethers, Americans have 43
percent fewer family dinners
and thirty-five percent fewer of
us have friends who drop into
see us at our homes.
If we accept the importance
of social connection, we can
not allow ourselves to devolve
into isolated fiefdoms. Just as
we have accepted the presence
of computers, cell phones, and
social media, we must find
ways to engage young folks
who view the world differently.
Even our sense of community
as a physical place is being re
defined to include engagement
communities such as pc gam
ers, techies, sports enthusiasts,
climate change advocates, and
social problem thinkers. If we
do not embrace these newer and
different ways of recognizing
communities, we wifi face an
uncertain future.
Accepting and engaging
in these alternate communi
ties allow us to bring younger
people into the circle. Passing
the torch allows an emerging
generation of leaders to rein
vent and reestablish a sense of
belonging. A free and engaged
democracy requires people to
value its history and principles.
If we meet the challenge, we
will add quality to our lives
and that of our posterity. Those
who serve in government, lead
service organizations, and fill
our pulpits must make way for
those standing in the wings.
Styles and ways of doing things
change and we must be willing
to allow the implementation of
different approaches. The loss
of membership in our institu
tions represents a significant
depreciation of our spiritual
and social resources as well as
civic engagement. Togetherness
is not just a quaint expression;
it is “loving your neighbor as
yourself’—a core of our very
existence.