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PAGE 4A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS. WEDNESDAY. MARCH 19. 2008
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Editorial Views
We See Their Hyprocrisy;
What About Our Own?
There's something especially disturbing about
corruption when it comes from someone whose
reputation is based on fighting corruption. That
could be former New York governor Eliot Spitzer or
former Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney
Tim Madison.
Both made their reputations fighting the very sort
of thing they were themselves doing — and both
were highly regarded in the offices they held. But
both succumbed to the illusion that their position
and power protected them from discovery. Spitzer is
humiliated and ruined. Madison too — and he's serv
ing a prison sentence.
How could a high-profile politician like Spitzer
come to believe that he could escape discovery of
a long-time relationship with a prostitute? What
would make Madison rationally believe that he could
permanently avoid discovery of his theft of public
funds?
Few people would argue that Spitzer and Madison
respectively did not get the punishments they
deserve, but the damage in both cases is more
emotional than concrete. Spitzer and Madison both
broke the law, but more importantly, they violated
the public's trust. There is no suggestion to date that
the New York governor misused public funds, while
Madison's theft is relatively minor from a dollar
standpoint.
In contrast, we have a government which with
deceit led this country into a war in which tens of
thousands have died, hundreds of thousands have
been hurt and which destroyed America's credibility
in the world. We have leadership that continues to
promote this war and teases about a similar war with
Iran.
Which is more immoral — Spitzer's dalliances with
a prostitute, Madison's theft or an illegitimate war
in which casualties continue to mount and which is
helping bankrupt this country? Why is the outrage,
nationally in the Spitzer case and locally for Madison,
so much greater than for a groundless, evil war?
Is it because 75 percent of the public and virtually
all of Congress bought into the war at its inception?
Or, is it because we still equate opposition to any
war as a lack of patriotism? Why do we have a lower
tolerance for immoral behavior related to sex and
theft than for immorality that leads to countless
deaths and injuries, torturing of prisoners, violation
of human rights and abrogation of Constitutional
rights?
What delights the public about the downfall of
those like Spitzer and Madison is the exposure of
their hypocrisy. But as long as the American public
ignores the immorality of the Iraq war, its hypocrisy
is far greater. And like Spitzer and Madison, we will
one day pay its price.
Five years after we invaded Iraq on the pretexts
of seeking weapons of mass destruction and a link
between Saddam Hussein and Al-qaeda, no weapons
of mass destruction were located and no creditable
link ever existed Hussein and Al-qaeda. All but the
most delusional hawks concede that our pretexts for
war were false, yet the war goes on, and we pretend
that the men and women risking life and limb in this
cause are "protecting our freedom" because we're
afraid to admit that this war was wrong from the out
set and that we're wasting those lives for nothing.
We can point our fingers in judgment and make
jokes about Spitzer and Madison, but as long as we
countenance the war in Iraq — whatever its eventual
outcome may be — we expose our own immorality as
far greater than that of two public officials brought
down by their lust or greed. America was wrong to
invade Iraq, and every life we spend or min trying to
"win" a war that shouldn't have happened just deep
ens our own national shame and hypocrisy.
Editorials, unless otherwise noted, are written by Mark
Beardsley. He can be reached by e-mail at mark@main-
streetnews.com.
The Commerce News
ESTABLISHED IN 1875
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Commerce, Georgia 30529
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BRANDON REED Sports Editor
TERESA MARSHALL Office Manager
MERRILL BAGWELL Cartoonist
THE COMMERCE NEWS is the legal organ of the city
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Now, here’s a real bargain.
This tomb is a one-owner and was
occupied for just three days.
Rising Tide, Moving The Train
I've always loved the idea that
"a rising tide floats all boats."
The implied even-handedness
of it appeals to me, suggesting,
as it seems to, that (for exam
ple) in an improving economy,
everyone's lot in life improves.
Recently, I've had a chance to
think about that rising tide in
a new way, as I experience peo
ple's response to the Commerce
Library's good fortune.
As everyone surely knows
by now, Dr. Neelagaru, our
local cardiologist, has given
$150,000 to the library's
Building Fund, bringing us
within $75,000 of our goal
— a goal that once seemed
so far away that I referred to
the climb up to it as Mount
Kilimanjaro and pictured the
goal itself as lost in the clouds.
Now, suddenly, it seems within
reach, if we keep trying.
Tricia Massey, our capital
campaign chairman and now
the president of the Commerce
Public Library Foundation, has
always believed that the goal
was within reach, and I have
learned a very great deal from
her in the past year. She has
taught me, by example, about
trying, and then trying again,
and then again. She makes me
recall the famous exhortation
of Winston Churchill's: "Never
give up. Never, never, never
A Few
Facts, A
Lot Of
Gossip 2
BY SUSAN HARPER
give up." Pauline Kael once
said of Diana Ross that she had
a whim of iron. I would say
that Tricia has a faith of tem
pered steel.
And of course we have all,
as a community, been push
ing the train up the hill (on
the billboard in front of
the library) for a year now.
Everyone who has bought a
brick in honor or in memory
of someone or to mark a spe
cial occasion; everyone who
has made a pledge or given a
donation to the Building Fund;
the Jackson County Board of
Commissioners, who allocated
SPLOST funding for our library
expansion; everyone who has
said "keep the change" when
they made a photocopy; every
one who bought a quilt raffle
ticket, or attended a fund
raising event; the children
who held a trike-a-thon at the
Methodist pre-kindergarten —
all of these and many more
have kept faith with us in the
uphill journey.
So we were ready for a really
great "leg up." But to have it
come from a quiet and unas
suming member of the com
munity who has worked hard
throughout his life, who has
saved quite a few lives here
with his skills and careful care,
and who modestly attributes
his success to his hometown
library in India — well, all of
this has had quite an effect, I
can honestly say.
The newly risen level of the
Building Fund is a gift to the
whole community, and people
have stopped me on the street
to tell me so. For one thing, it
has given us hope. Folks say
things like, "I believe we'll
make it now, don't you?" For
another thing, it has given us
inspiration: the desire to give
back, the sudden awareness of
what influences in our own
lives have made us who we are.
But perhaps most of all, it has
done what unexpected great
gifts always do: It has lifted our
spirits, and made us profound
ly grateful. Thank you, Dr.
Neel. You have now touched all
of our hearts!
Susan Harper is director of the
Commerce Public Library.
Breaking In A New Pnppy
Percival, Petunia, Duke, DJ,
Wendy, Blackie, Brownie, and
Prowler are the dogs that Jon
and I enjoyed as children. And
now, Millie Charlotte. We are
the proud puppy parents of an
8-week old Boykin Spaniel who
melted our hearts the minute
we met her at her breeder's
home in Gainesville.
Our beloved mutt, Rusty
Dog, died one year ago and we
have felt the void of having
a pet. I was willing to wait a
little bit longer before we took
on this huge responsibility.
However, Jon thought it would
be a great idea to welcome a
puppy into our newly built
house so we could immedi
ately experience the wear and
tear that comes with having a
puppy.
Millie Charlotte was greeted
by 16 visitors the day we
brought her home. Our chil
dren did not have this many
people on their first day home.
Her cute curly brown hair and
huge paws are the immediate
attractions to our little pup.
Everyone loves to smell her
puppy breath, hold her tight
Views
In
Rotation
BY TRICIA MASSEY
while she licks their face and
watch her stumble when she
falls. She is quite the enter
tainer!
Our daughters fight over
who Millie loves the most. We
have tried to explain that Millie
loves us all. We have also tried
to introduce a few training
techniques to Millie. I use the
term training very loosely. The
girls don't understand why
we are so "mean" to her. Our
explanation seems simple: "Just
like you girls have rules, Millie
also has rules that she can't
break."
Our 3-year old is quick to
respond, "Well, I don't like our
rules and I know Millie doesn't
like her rules, so we are leav
ing."
As they walk down the drive
way Millie starts nipping at her
legs and shoes.
"Momma! Help! I don't like
this dog. Take her back. She
bites!" The runaway bandits
don't make it past the mailbox.
Millie has a cat collar with
a bell that jingles when she
walks. We have gotten attached
to the sound of the bell and
when we don't hear it we
all immediately question:
"Where's Millie?" She is usual
ly sniffing out her next squat
ting position or chewing on
our furniture. We are trying to
learn her whimpers and cries
to determine the difference
between being hungry, tired
and having to go potty. We
don't always interpret the cues
correctly, but we are trying.
We have a huge plastic ball
that Millie enjoys chasing in
the yard. When she catches up
with it she usually rolls right
over the top and does a few
flips. We think this is funny
Please Turn To Page 5A
f it's Gospel
According
To Mark
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
The Numbers Are
Clear: Our Policy
Is A Huge Failure
According to a new study, 26 per
cent of U.S. teenage girls have a sexu
ally transmitted disease. Better than
one in four.
An Associated Press story on the
study, conducted in Chicago, said
some doctors attribute that high per
centage, in part, to the "abstinence
only" approach to sex education in
schools.
Locally, Jackson County still leads
the health district and state in the
percentage of women who have
babies during their teen years. Health
officials cite teen ignorance is a
cause.
The same conundrum exists for
both situations: One school of
thought is to teach teens the value
of sexual abstinence — if you don't
have sex, you won't get pregnant or
acquire a sexually transmitted dis
ease. The other belief is that we must
offer sex education as a fallback posi
tion for those kids who don't buy
into abstinence — 50 percent of high
school students.
The abstinence only crowd says
that teaching about birth control and
the prevention of disease encourages
teens to be sexually active. They're
probably right. But the sex ed group
counters that failure to teach kids
how to protect themselves dooms
those who do not abstain to pregnan
cies and disease. They're right too.
As we ponder this dilemma and
argue the merits of sex ed vs. absti
nence ed, the statistics demonstrate
the failure of our policies. Kids are
getting pregnant. They're also get
ting infected in disturbing numbers
with human papillomavirus (HPV),
which can cause cervical cancer;
chlamydia, trichomoniasis and geni
tal herpes. And let's not forget the
HIV vims, syphilis and gonorrhea.
Few parents think their teenagers
are sexually active; it's those other
parents' kids who do those things.
Right.
Twenty-six percent of our girls have
an STD. We lead the league in babies
born to teenagers. Abstinence-only,
like the war in Iraq and the war on
drugs, is a colossal failure.
Here's why. Public policy may
trumpet abstinence, but every other
aspect of our culture pushes sex and
sexuality. Blame it on Hollywood,
the music industry, removal of prayer
from the schools, Bill Clinton or
greenhouse gases, but this culture
equates sexual activity with popular
ity, success, self-fulfillment and self
esteem. We are bombarded daily by
music, video, print and other messag
es, most subtle, some not, about the
importance of being sexy. Sexuality
sells cars, beer, toothpaste and every
other product. The sexually attrac
tive are the winners, and if you took
away every product designed to make
people more sexually appealing, the
world economy would really tank.
Sex sells — always has, always will,
and the former governor of New York
isn't the only buyer.
It would be terrific if all kids real
ized they don't have to be sexually
active to be successful or popular,
but the world is telling them some
thing else. We need to provide kids
with the information about the dan
gers of sex but also with data about
preventing pregnancy and disease.
We know what happens when teens
don't have or use that information.
The numbers are all too clear.
Mark Beardsley is editor of The
Commerce News. He can be reached at
mark@mainstreetnews. com.