Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, August 19, 2009, The Millen News
Opinions, yours and ours
The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett
I received the following “Seeds from Sower’ from the Michael
A. Guido ministry recently and thought you might enjoy it as much
as I did.
A politician said to a newspaper editor, “You’ve insulted me."
“How’s that?” he asked? “I printed your article of resignation
as Mayor just as you wrote it.”
“Yes,” he said, “but look where you put it - under PUBLIC IM
PROVEMENTS!”
Everyone can do something to make the world better. You can
improve yourself. And if you don’t become better, you 'll stop being
good. Concerning our Lord, the Bible says, “Jesus grew in wis
dom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
Are you improving yourself daily by growing mentally, physi
cally, socially and spiritually?
If you ’re still breathing, you can improve.
I thought this was very good. We sometimes tend to think that
we have “arrived’’ at our best when the truth is that there is always
room for improvement.
Our poll question on the website last week was, "Is the president
doing a good job?’’
Responses, as of Monday morning, were as follows: Yes - 20;
No - 47: Undecided - 4.
To participate in this week’s poll, go to http://
www.themillennews.com.
Happy birthday this week to: Twalla Daniels, Winn Lee, Dawn
Waters, Cody McTeer, Benny Mims, Jason Bennett, Rhonda
Hendley, Brianna Carol, Grady Lane Jr., Stephenie Adams, Matt
Brinson, Janie Waters, Michelle B. Richardson, Lois Parker and
Blakey Brown.
Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Ivey
McMillan and Mr. and Mrs. Howard Young.
Military Active Duty List: PV2 Jeremy Johnson, U.S. Army,
59 th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; Ronnie
Perryman, Charlie Troop, 108 th Calvary Division, 4 th Platoon,
Afghanistan; Lance Cpl. Adam Lanier, U.S. Marines, 8 th & I
Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.; E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis,
U.S. Air Force, RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom; Lance Cpl.
Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, Baharia, Iraq; Sgt. Adam
Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Cpl. Lee Ogden,
U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2 nd Class
Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Airman
Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart
Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Barksdale AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4Travis
D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald
Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Com
mander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia;
Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field
Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy,
Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby,
U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N.,
U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army Na
tional Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf
; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry
Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General
Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman,
MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont
Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp
Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty
Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft.
Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd
Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley,
Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and SPC Charles
“C.J.” Amerson, U.S. Army, Camp Adder, Iraq.
Letters policy
Letters to the editor of The Millen News are welcomed and
encouraged. These are pages of opinions, yours and ours.
The unsigned editorials generally appearing on the left side of
the editorial page represent the opinion of the newspaper and not
that of any one person on our staff. Personal columns represent
the opinions of the writers whose names appear on them and are
not to be considered the opinion of this newspaper, its manage
ment or owners. Letters to the editor voice the opinions of the
newspaper’s readers.
The Millen News reserves the right to edit any and all portions
of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters must
include the signature, address and phone number of the writer to
allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters should be lim
ited to 400 words.
The deadline for letters is Friday at noon. You can email letters
to themillennews@yahoo.com.
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Georgia Family Council
By Randy Hicks
Georgia Family Council Pres.
Norman Rockwell, the iconic
American artist, is known for his
poignancy, detail, and accurate
depiction of small-town life.
One of his paintings that I ad
mire is called "Freedom of
Speech.” It depicts a blue-collar
worker standing up in a town
hall, possibly posing a question
or giving his opinion. What
strikes me about that painting is
the others surrounding him. They
are mostly business men, well
dressed and probably well edu
cated. But they are all sitting
down, glancing up at him and
respecting the man’s right to be
heard. To me, the painting depicts
pride and responsibility.
In case you hadn’t noticed, this
Norman Rockwell-type scene
isn’t exactly what we’ve been
seeing in many of the town hall
events being held by lawmakers
lately.
One of the great rights guar
anteed by the Bill of Rights is
freedom of speech. It was a revo
lutionary idea at the time - citi
zens could speak up without fear
of reprisal from a king or any
other coercive arm of govern
ment. It is a concept that count
less men and women have died
for since the War for Indepen
dence, and one that Americans
hold most sacred.
Freedom of speech has played
an invaluable role in generating
significant and important change
in our country. Without it, there
would have been no abolitionists
fighting slavery, no Civil Rights
Movement or anti-war protests.
What has become obvious in
recent days about freedom of
speech is that it can be done well
and it can be done poorly, it can
be constructive and it can be de
structive. We may agree or we
may disagree. In short, it can be
messy. Freedom is like that at
times.
In town halls around the coun
try, the right to free speech has
been on display as Americans of
all stripes have come out in force
to express concern about many
controversial issues, healthcare
reform being the hottest of the
hot. And while it has been messy
at times, it’s the latest manifesta
tion of one of America’s great tra
ditions.
Still, the behavior on display
by some elected officials and
some attendees is a little trou
bling.
Some public officials’ re
sponses in recent town hall meet
ings have been snarky and ill ad
vised. In an op-ed in USA Today,
Speaker of the House Nancy
TOWN HALL TURBULENCE
Pelosi wrote, "These disruptions
are occurring because opponents
are afraid not just of differing
views - but of the facts them
selves. Drowning out opposing
views is simply un-American.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid called town hall protestors
"evil-mongers.”
Other members of Congress
have criticized people at these
events based on their appearance
and race, while assigning sinis
ter motives to their behavior.
Ridiculing people who arc ex
pressing their convictions and
viewpoints is risky business for
politicians. While citizens should
not fear reprisal for their legiti
mate public expression, public
officials should always be a bit
concerned about ballot-box re
prisals driven by citizens exercis
ing another right - the right to
vote.
And even if reelection is not a
concern for them, it is unseemly
for members of Congress to dis
parage their fellow citizens. It’s
fine to disagree, but not to insult.
All that being said, I think
more could be accomplished at
these events if not only public
officials, but ordinary citizens,
focused on raising the level of the
public discourse.
It’s not hard to see why so
many of us are outraged by a
free-spending Congress that is
expanding its reach into so many
areas of our lives - including
healthcare. Lawmakers are rush
ing through major legislation that
they (by their own admission)
have not read and raising deficit
spending to record levels. Voters
feel like they are being ignored
and taken advantage of, and they
are ready to vent.
While these emotions are easy
to understand, it doesn’t change
the fact that little is accomplished
by disruptive outbursts, shouting
down the speaker and hurling
insults. If the goal is to try and
change people’s minds while be
ing heard and understood,
doesn’t it make more sense to
take an approach that actually
guarantees you’ll be heard?
Just as public officials ought to
respect the average citizen, the
citizen should respect the public
official - even while expressing
deep disagreements.
Many public officials, through
their policy positions and public
statements, arc giving citizens all
the reason they need to show up
at a town hall and register their
disagreement. There is certainly
a heavier burden on elected offi
cials to be civil, and when they
demean outspoken citizens they
invite more of the same. But we
don’t need to make it personal
either. Personal insults do not ad
vance the debate. They only
make it hairier to be heard. It’s
something that is far too common
on both sides of the political spec
trum.
As we challenge government
leaders, it’s best to focus on ideas.
After all, one reason to speak at
a town hall meeting is to change
people’s minds. To do so, we
have to understand the issues, in
cluding the opposing viewpoint.
It’s easy to be critical, but it’s
helpful to have our own ideas
about what should be done (if
anything), and why. Good ideas
can withstand scrutiny and criti
cism.
Public debate is healthy and
essential to our system of gov
ernment. It is a hallmark of our
republic. What we’ve seen in the
past few weeks is public debate
at its best and its worst.
Town hall meetings may not
always look like a Norman
Rockwell painting, but the free
dom we all enjoy to speak our
mind comes with a responsibil
ity to do so in a way that we can
be heard and understood.
Georgia Family Council is a
non-profit research and educa
tion organization committed to
fostering conditions in which in
dividuals, families and commu
nities thrive. For more informa
tion, go to
www.georgiafamily.org, (770)
2 4 2 - 0 0 0 1,
stephen.daniels@georgiafamily.otg.
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JENKINS
COUNTY
AUG. 24-28
Monday - Fish Filet on Bun or P/B Jelly Sandwich, Baked Beans, Corn
on Cob, Sherbet, Graham Crackers or Salad Bar: Lettuce, Tomato,
Celery Sticks, Boiled Egg, Cheese, P/B Jelly Sandwich, Grapes.
Tuesday - Ham & Cheese Sub or P/B Jelly Sandwich, French Fries,
Lettuce/Tomato, Dill Pickle Spears, Pineapple Cup or Salad Bar:
Lettuce, Tomato, Celery Sticks, Boiled Egg, Pimento Cheese, Grapes,
Graham Crackers, Saltines.
Wednesday - Corn Dog Nuggets or P/B Jelly Sandwich, French Fries,
Carrots & Dip, Applesauce, Graham Crackers or Salad Bar: Lettuce,
Tomato, Pickle Spears, Boiled Egg, Cheese, Cold Cut Sandwich,
Grapes.
Thursday - Lasagna or P/B Jelly Sandwich, Corn, Mandarin Oranges,
Garlic Bread Sticks or Salad Bar: Lettuce, Tomato, Celery Sticks,
Cheese, Tuna or Chicken Salad, Grapes, Graham Crackers, Saltines.
Friday - Cheeseburger or P/B Jelly Sandwich, French Fries, Lettuce &
Tomatoes, Pickle Slices, Fruit Cup or Salad Bar: Lettuce, Tomato,
Pickle Spears, Boiled Egg, Cheese, Turkey/Cheese Sub, Grapes.
# School Menu#