This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Too much UGA?

I just wanted to add my two cents worth to a letter from a recent writer who commented about the The Telegraph’s incessant coverage of UGA football. I am a long time Georgia football fan, but geez, guys, there are limits.

Your never-ending, 24/7 coverage of this topic is unreal and pretty darn aggravating. There are other football programs which deserve much more coverage, but none deserve the around the clock coverage in the middle of the summer. I’m also an Auburn fan (as are hundreds of other people in central Georgia) but you hardly ever publish anything about Auburn football. Just give it a break, people. It’s still August.

Great editorial

The editorial in Sunday’s Telegraph has to be one of the best ever published. I just wish it would be read by everyone in central Georgia and beyond. Great piece.

No name team

When I saw the five names for the new baseball team I cringed. How does it sound to say, “Let’s go see the Macon Bacon play ball” or see “the Macon Soul play ball”? I would not vote for any of the five. If I were a player, I would be embarrassed to have either on my uniform.

Why not ask the team to name itself or go back to the drawing board. Surely out of the thousand suggestions there must have been one that is more fitting for the team?

Tools for the job

I know the tax haters are going to come out of the woodwork voicing opposition to the proposed millage rate increase. I also know that those who are OK with it will probably sit back quietly because, good gosh, it’s not popular to be in favor of tax increases these days. Well, let me go ahead and step in it.

First of all, I can’t help but drive around Macon and be proud to see some of the wonderful improvements that have been made everywhere; new and fresh community centers, a vibrant downtown, improvements to our parks (the likes of which we have not seen in decades) and a school board and county government that now seems to be functioning pretty well for the most part.

I know most of the infrastructure improvements have been funded by the SPLOST, which I strongly support and hope we vote for continuing, and many of the more visible improvements are thanks to private investments and our amazingly generous foundations. But the less sexy things are those things the millage increase will help; decent wages for police, firemen and county workers and all the costs associated with just running a city and county.

I know it will hurt some and I know we all hate to pay into something when we don’t get something tangible back. But, we do get something back. There is, I believe, an unwritten agreement wherein, we, as taxpayers, agree to foot the bill for running our local government — whatever that cost may be — and private industry, private investments and foundation money will help with the rest. How long do you think they will continue to invest if we put the brakes on and let the financial stability of our county government decay?

Spend less, you say? Some equate running our local government with running a business. Well, the best run companies in America are those that pay a competitive wage and give their employees the resources they need to get the job done. We’ve “hired” our local officials to do a job for us; provide basic services, spend our tax dollars wisely and encourage and manage growth for the future. Let’s be one of the “great companies” and give them the resources they need to get the job done. If they squander this opportunity, we can and will attract and vote for new managers.

Little big man

The threatening rhetoric between the North Korean and President Trump is troubling to many Americans as well as our allies. We all witness the aggressive talk between two rather immature males. I know some appreciate the threats from Trump, but that will not produce the outcome we want.

I am assuming that Kim Jong Un is even more narcissistic than Donald Trump. And they both let us know they see this war of words as personal. It is doubtful that either of them has the long-term best interest of their people clearly in sight.

In this ongoing saber rattling we can see the escalation which might erupt into more than mere words. With that possibility in mind, de-escalation seems more prudent. We know we can destroy that entire nation, as they say, with one hand tied behind our backs, but that can include many lives lost in South Korea and Guam. We are not in grave danger at this time on our continent, but why risk lives anywhere?

We have seen Trump’s pettiness and bluster aimed at individuals and nations. He has spouted that we are ready for “fire and fury,” that we are “locked and loaded.” Those remarks frighten millions of people, but I doubt if Kim Jong Un will be scared into backing down.

I wonder if Trump is aware of the federal law prohibiting making war without the approval of Congress? When briefed as a candidate, for example, he did not know of our nuclear triad: land-based nuclear missiles, submarine-based nuclear missiles and nuclear devices from our Air Force. And several times he has uttered the unthinkable, “since we have nuclear weapons, why don’t we use them?”

In terms of wisdom, it is in everyone’s interest that Trump be — not the traditional, macho big man — but the bigger man. Let the little man have his day. As president, it is Trump’s duty to focus on the greater good and not on his image and ego. Being the bigger man means letting Kim Jong Un brag that he got the U.S. to the bargaining table without preconditions.

Wisdom means following in Obama’s footsteps. Recall in negotiating the agreement with Iran, not a shot was fired and, as incentive, we eased restrictions against them and returned millions of their dollars which had been frozen in our banks. That agreement has been strictly adhered to by all concerned for well over a year.

We all know Iran is still accused of sponsoring terror and that they are not our friends. But it is truly a blessing that Iran is not moving toward nuclear weapons. And, over a 10-year period, they may begin to relish a more honored place in the family of nations. A bigger man can eschew the role of gunslinger and take pride in the role of peacemaker and, in his words, deal maker.

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, August 16, 2017."