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PAGE 4A-THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 20. 2023
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”-
Henry W a i d Beeche r
Keeping it real
My pastor admitted in last week’s sermon that he
has a minor addiction to practical joke videos on
line. Equally amusing to me are the videos of melt
downs. I don’t discriminate between adult and tod
dler ones. They all make
me chuckle.
Adult traffic and plane
tantrums are especially
amusing. I can lose hours
watching those.
But one that completely
perplexed me is the vi
ral video of a woman in
the last few weeks who
claimed that the man sit
ting next to her on a plane
wasn’t real.
Her reaction and freak
out sparked questions. Is
she mentally stable? Is she drunk? Who is she? Who
is the man?
Even more surprising, people are admitting they
want to know the answer.
Is the man real?
With the vast amount of information we have
available via the internet, why is this question so
difficult to answer?
A recent employment survey by Earnst and Young,
reports a surprising trend in Generation Z, which is
newly entering the workforce.
Us older folks often stereotype our younger gen
erations as fake and superficial. Afterall, these kid-
dos in their twenties have never lived without a cell
phone, much less a computer. Social media friends
are often people they’ve never met in person. Their
viewing choices have consisted of a variety of “real
ity” shows that featured heavily made up and surgi
cally modified characters which we wouldn’t recog
nize in their natural states.
I’m not really sure if I was surprised to learn that
Generation Z, people born after 1997, desire authen
ticity. They want something they know is real.
They know and have experienced shallow, pre
tend, and fake. It leads to emptiness.
This counterfeit life has existed for a while. In the
eighties, the decade of excess, we maxed out our
credit cards to spend money on things to impress
others. The nineties brought us the internet and video
games to help us disconnect with our neighbors and
discount in-person relationships. The early 2000’s
taught us to pretend our emotional health was fine,
with 9-11, recessions, wars, and the rising influence
of social media. We haven’t been real for a while.
And maybe that’s why, like my pastor, we secret
ly love practical joke or meltdown videos. The re
sponses are real.
When we see the doorbell videos scare a thief, we
can tell the shock is real. Road rage is real, even if
the actions are surprising. The kid who hits his dad
with the baseball bat, receives a real reaction.
Part of the response is emotional, but most of it is
something else entirely.
Real emotions, real actions, real words are honest.
It’s only when we’re honest that we can form last
ing and meaningful relationships that lead to a ful
filling life.
So we can side eye and question the woman dis
playing an embarrassing tantram on a plane, or we
can identify with her.
Is he real, or not?
Alison Smith is a regular contributor to The Mad
ison County Journal.
Alison
Smith
Day camp days
Hello, neighbors. I’ll share with you a highlight
of writing, perhaps one of the endeavor’s best parts:
getting to think about a subject for a long time. At
times, the
difficult,
only be
ta translate
words,
moment
penning a
timent on
thank-you
you get a
side your
er scale,
graphs that
hour when
thinking is quite
though usually
cause I am trying
thoughts into
Imagine for a
the challenge of
meaningful sen-
a birthday or a
card; sometimes
little stuck in
head! On a larg-
there are para-
can take over an
it comes to my
weekly column. However, most often writing is en
joyable, and I find peace in “studying on” pleasant
and present moments.
Considering that my subjects typically revolve
around being mindful of fulfilling present moments,
the catalyst for my thoughts this week center on a
Day Camp bus ride back to the Madison County
Recreation Department from the Commerce City
Pool last Thursday. As I bounced along with the
campers and other counselors, I took note of six
people within sight: Maggie, Austin, Brooke, Jenna,
Riley, Reagan, all either former campers, students,
or both. I thought of our shared experiences as Day
Camp counselors this summer, how they grew from
care-free children to care-giving young adults, and
I smiled. Their desire to be part of it all filled me
with happiness and a parent-like pride, so I wanted
to write about Day Camp, a subject that makes me
grateful year after year.
I think it befuddles some people that I work at a
kids’ camp during the summer months after teaching
the entire school year. I have my reasons. As not
ed above, the people — from counselors to kids to
MCRD folks — are of chief importance to me, along
with the magic feeling that gets more and more lost
to us as we get older, the opportunity to be part
of exciting, pure fun. Additionally, staying active,
playing games, and getting in a good, honest sweat
are also near the top of the list.
In any discussion about the wonders of Day Camp,
I would be remiss if I did not extend a heartfelt thank
you to Dee - for me, she started it all, hiring me
on a recommendation, and eventually earning the
nickname “Aunt Dee” over the years. Dee’s version
of Camp was simple and straightforward, a home
grown annual event that provided deeply treasured
memories: countless Uno games in the Camp room,
the DNA craft, endless rounds of Battleball and
Capture the Flag, back-breaking slip ‘n slide set-up
and take-down with my boys David, Lee, and Ste
ven, “Little Rascals” and “Sandlot” viewings, and,
of course, Wednesday library shows with magician
Keith. She provided the inspiration for continued
efforts, as the current Camp is an evolution of that
earlier version, with the work of Holley and Shelley
equally appreciated — its flexible structure, week
ly field trips (movie AND pool in one day?! Yes!),
and maximal resource usage still providing Madison
County kids with valuable outdoor summertime fun
and opportunities for memories.
An old man once told me that feeling valued is one
of the greatest gifts one person can receive from an
other. Day Camp gives me that, as I feel connected to
people both young and old because we’re out there
doing the same things, part of the same things. In a
way, that’s what my weekly columns are all about:
connection, living in a community together, being
together, enjoying moments and all we have around
us together. I was reminded of that connection last
Thursday, my final Camp day for the summer when
Austin, Brooke, Kylie, and Maggie built a car fort
around my vehicle — a good prank done by people
who care. Regardless of when, folks’ involvement in
Camp is what adds the most value to my 16 years of
experience. As such, thank you Dee, David, Steven,
Lee, Mary Alice, Leah, Rebecca, Jessica, Allison,
Brandi, Mallory, Katie, Karli, Mary Michael, Emily,
Cody, Dusty, Austin, Clint, Jenna, Maggie, Reagan,
Riley, DeMario, Kylie, Taylor, Lily, Faith, Alana,
Abigail, Brooke, Thomas, Marlee, Holley, Jared H.,
Shelley, Justin, Robin, Dick, Andrew, Bryan, Ro
man, Grady, Emma, Sarah Beth, Jake, Owen, Tracy,
Ciara, Kaylea, Sarah Kate, Andrew, Landon, Claire,
Eddie, Macy, Macey, Tasha, and Katie. What a list,
though perhaps a name or two forgotten over the
years. To all: think of water balloon-filling, gaga-
ball, zombie tag, pool time, games on field three,
the GAP, colorful Camp shirts, 5:30pm, good times
together. Recall your place and your time within the
good experience, knowing that I was thinking of you
as I sat on the bus going back to the Park, a smile
on my face from a day at the movie theater and pool
and from all the years of goodness you provided.
My hope for you is that you take the time to enjoy
a such a moment in the coming days. Thank you for
making my life better, Day Camp crew.
Mindfully yours, Travis.
Travis Moak is a Madison County educator and
contributor to The Madison County Journal.
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Lessons learned from
Colbert survey
Dear Editor:
The Hardman Road Men’s Group (HRMG) partici
pated in this years’ July 4th Independence Day Festival
at Colbert, Georgia. At the HRMG booth, festival goers
were able to select from a range of choices that they
believed would be best for America regarding six key
social issues this country is wrestling with. The six key
issues included 1) gender choice, 2) marriage choice,
3} education system choice, 4) basis for our moral
code, 5) right-to-life choice and 6) worshipping God
versus worshipping idols or self. There was great inter
est and participation in this survey. For each of these is
sues, participants could select from two to four options.
Ninety-six people expressed their views.
A wide range of views was expressed for each of
the issues. However, there are two easy conclusions
to draw from this survey that deserve highlighting and
further consideration. First, a majority of responders to
the survey indicated that Bible Truths should guide our
laws regarding all six issues: Gender is defined by God,
marriage is between a man and a woman, right-to-life
for all, choice of Christian education or parent choice
education, moral code based on Bible truths, and wor
ship God and not idols. This overall result suggests that
our federal and state laws are not in alignment with
the wishes of the people that participated in this poll.
How could this misalignment occur? Perhaps the most
encouraging results from this survey was that in Madi
son County the people’s hearts want the Bible to be the
standard that underpin our governance. Does it?
The second major conclusions that could be drawn
from this survey suggested that participants are not
pleased with our public education system. Only 15%
of participants selected the public school system as the
best choice for America in 2023. Eighty four percent
of survey participants preferred either a Christian edu
cation option or a parent-choice option as the best op
portunity for America. Why do Madison County area
people think that the public school system is not a good
choice for America in 2023? I do not believe that a low
percent of people in favoring the public school system
reflects concern over school administrators, teacher
professionalism or the quality of school infrastruc
ture. Madison County is blessed in all these regards.
However, as Alison Smith pointed out in her wonderful
opinion article published in The Madison County Jour
nal on June 29 public school systems are too expensive
and not sustainable by tax payers. Similar concerns
were expressed by Dan Lampe in the July 6 Madison
County Journal. Ever increasing annual cost and asso
ciated accruing unfunded liabilities says we must find
a better alternative.
While spiraling cost of education is a concern for
many, I believe the major concern expressed by sur
vey participants is about the culturing environment that
public school systems are mandated to operate under.
Christians know that God created the heavens and the
earth and that His Word is the only truth in this world.
So, it is hard for them to accept an educational system
that must exclude God from any consideration i.e. God
is cast out of our public schools. A zero Biblical role
policy says, without saying a word, that God’s word is
not worthy to educate and direct our children’s learning
and social behavior. Secondly, by requiring the public
school system to endorse and teach relationships and
ideologies that are an abomination to God is offen
sive and very concerning to many Christian parents.
Even though Madison County has an excellent school
system, mandates that restrict biblical influences but
require endorsement and recognition of anti-biblical
practices has brought many to question if this is an ed
ucational system that is good for Americas future.
It seems it may be time for parents to be given the op
portunity to choose the best education system for their
children. This would likely help with both the concern
of the very high cost of our current mandated public
system and allow parents to choose an educational sys
tem that is more in alignment with their beliefs. Will
our politicians wake up and listen to the people they
are supposed to represent and more important will they
listen to God’s Word?
Sincerely,
Phil Dougherty
Madison County
HMRG is a cross-denominational men’s Bible study
group that meets every Saturday morning in Hull.
The Madison County Journal
Danielsville, Madison County Georgia 30633
Merged with The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News, January 2006
A publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc.
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOn BUFFINGTON Co-publisher
HANNAH BARRON Editor
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THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
PO Box 908
Jefferson, Ga. 30549
The Official Legal Organ of Madison County, Georgia-Periodicals postage paid at
Danielsville, Georgia 30633 (USPS 011-097, ISSN 1074987X)