This is Viewpoints for Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017

Term limits

If one wanted a good reason to support term limits for our legislators, look no further than Congressman John Lewis. He is a national disgrace.

Personal limits of protest

I heard a story from the civil rights movement of the 1960s about a young man who decided to take part in one of the marches that were common in that era. Hearing what was going on, the young man’s father rushed to the scene to snatch his son from the crowd, adding the stern admonition that “I didn’t raise you to do such things.”

I was not raised to do such things either. I carried no placards with peace signs or ant-war slogans. I spat on no soldiers or police. I was not involved in a single sit in and didn’t crash gates at pop festivals. I was aware of my times and never lacked an opinion regarding currents events. I obeyed the law, if for no other reason, to avoid the consequences of disobedience.

Throughout history, rebellious threats were expeditiously put down by governing powers —nothing new there. Public protests are often the first step toward social change. Leaders, especially tyrants, fear and try to stop them.

Donald Trump is no despot, so no comparison is implied when I note that I watch indignant elements protest his election. I am, then, reassured that is not my way. I sympathize with the throng to the extent that when President Obama was elected and re-elected I was nauseously devastated. Forlorn is too mild a word if Hillary had been elected.

My sure and certain protests are by letters to which I sign my name. I can stand alone upon my beliefs with no reinforcing crowd.

Quality education?

The article on the racial distribution of students in Macon-Bibb schools was informative. The population of Macon-Bibb County is about 53 percent black, 43 percent white and 4 percent other. Other consists of Hispanics, Asians and multiracial individuals. Student enrollment is about 72 percent black, 18.5 percent white and 8.5 percent other. There are about five fewer school in the county than 20 years ago. There are about 18 private schools in Macon-Bibb County with about 4,000 students of different races and economic backgrounds. To me there is a difference between racial diversity and racial distribution. Many whites live in the northern part of Macon-Bibb County. Therefore, their children go to schools in that area.

School choice is good. Be it admission to a public charter school or vouchers to attend a private school funded by tax dollars. I do not know what policies would have to be enacted to allow students from Macon-Bibb to go to schools in other school districts. To me, school choice means parents have the right to transfer their children from a failing school to a non-failing school or to a charter school that offers a specific curriculum. It is the responsibility of the school board to ensure that its schools provide a quality education in a safe environment. It is true that affluent school districts provide many educational opportunities regardless of its racial makeup.

I do not know if school choice policies will make schools more or less segregated. I am positive that most of the parents in Macon-Bibb County want to ensure that their children receive a quality education in a safe environment. I do not know if sending their children to a racially and economically diverse school is a concern of many Macon-Bibb parents.

Trump’s news conference

Watching President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference, It sounded more like a corporate board room meeting than a news conference. Patting all his nominees on the back for being great people and lambasting those he did not like: the intelligent agencies and a CNN news reporter.

In his early mornings tweets, he has continued with his derogatory remarks about people — Rep. John Lewis and actress Meryl Streep. In the past Trump has criticized a Gold Star family, Sen. John McCain for his war record, a physically disabled reporter, the pope, Mexican, Muslims, African Americans and made offensive remarks about women. Is this any way for a man about to become president to conduct himself?

A quote from the South African Times sums it up: “Whatever Trump does in office, the stark reality is that America has elected a bigot and demagogue with a deep contempt for women. When he takes over, the world will enter a time of great danger because we will have no idea whether a president who ignored the constraints of decency when he was a candidate will respect them in office.” If Trump’s recent news conference was any indicator, the answer is “no.”

Without question we have a divided country. My advice to Trump: Respect the constraints of decency and focus on unifying the nation. And my advice to everyone: Respect the constraints of decency and stop all the name calling. We are one people; one nation without regard to race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation. Focus on the future.

Boycott

Let John Lewis and other Democrats boycott the inauguration. Those and other actions will make the Democrats a thing of the past.

Google it

Apparently, I know how to get under liberally-minded people’s skin. As I recall, there were no widespread riots by conservatives when the U.S. elected the most liberal senator (Barack Obama) to president. I believe conservatives can better deal with reality than liberals. That says a lot about our differences. I was disappointed Obama won but gave him a chance to prove himself. He proved he should never have been elected. The reason he was elected and reelected was the media gave him a pass instead of accurately reporting all the terrible things he did.

My last letter irritated a Viewpoint’s reader/writer because I didn’t provide enough detail about how badly Obama performed. My only question is; where have they been the last eight years? I guess all my letters were ignored or the reader has been living under a rock. If you type into Google, “Obama is the worst president,” you will get 20,500,000 hits. Read at least a few of them before trying to rationalize his performance.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017."