This is Viewpoints for Thursday, June 8, 2017

Sad day for America

Having just recently attended award ceremonies for 5th-grade students at one of Jones County’s elementary schools, my wife and I noticed there was something missing from this year’s program versus last year’s and that was an opening prayer. My wife went to the lady that opened with prayer last year and told her that we missed her praying at this year’s event. The lady told her that there were repercussions from the past prayer.

In two years of attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, I went into the Hells Angel’s merchandise shop and was openly free to talk about Jesus Christ to members of Soldiers for Jesus motorcycle ministry with Hell’s Angel’s all around listening of which none of them gave us any repercussions about the conversation we were having about the Lord. Sad day in America when you can go into the Hell’s Angel’s store and talk about Jesus but you can’t have prayer in a public school.

History will prove?

Slowly and certainly, like a large ship turning in the water, President Trump is unraveling many of the misguided actions of his predecessor. Trump is wise enough to leave the good Obama policies in place while jettisoning only the bad ones.

We welcome the return to honoring our immigration laws. We applaud America’s decision to protect itself by turning away from the Paris Climate Accord. Furthermore, we look forward to ending the lies and deceit of the ACA.

As sincere as he may have been, Obama made damaging policy decisions that upcoming presidents will have to overturn or drastically alter. Future historians, when writing about the Obama years, will acknowledge the extent of his folly with an asterisk denoting how, for eight years, the U.S. abandoned all common sense.

Real history?

We who are proud to be decedents of brave men who fought for the South in the War of Northern Aggression will never forget. States rights was the real reason the South seceded. Slavery did not come out until Lincoln could not get enough men to volunteer at the beginning so he brought slavery into the fight to stimulate enlistment. Some northern states even thought about about seceding for the same reason. I respect the history of others, why can’t they accept my history? To deny real history, in my opinion, is real racism. Let us all accept each others’ history and live together in peace.

Celebrating history

I noticed in Sunday’s paper a Southern Battlefield Museum is closing due to the Civil War being offensive, yet while the paper celebrates all who died in war. Some could care less as so noted in replies to my opinion (5/24) about removing Southern historic statues. I commented that one cannot remove Georgia from its history for which Brandon Moseley, Jr. replied, “What the hell does that even mean?”

I would like to thank The Telegraph for the two special publications in Sunday’s paper. “Salute to 2017 Graduates” and Tribute to “Memorial Day.” I wonder how many like Moseley have the same attitude? How many 2017 graduates are descendants of the Confederacy and how many of their descendants were being honored this 2017 Memorial Day.

Although yesterday’s are dead and gone, surely some find meaning in celebrating history wherever it lies in today’s society.

Air Force creed

Two and a half years ago my wife was diagnosed with an illness that affected her ability to work and when she was able to work it left her drained and physically exhausted. Her supervisor and manager instituted an atmosphere of hostility and vindictive retribution. While others were given the benefit of the doubt she was held to a higher and unfair standard.

To make this short, I have spent thousands of dollars paying a lawyer to reach a settlement and now the Air Force is changing the terms we agreed to and I am still paying a lawyer to settle this issue. The very sad part of this saga is it all could have been avoided by just letting my wife get the medical help she needed at the time she needed it. Now my wife has been without a job for two years and her health has been compromised to the point where she cannot work.

I tell my children, students and airmen to take responsibility for their actions because that is the correct thing to do. Why can’t Robins Air Force Base leadership follow this same ethos, it is part of our Air Force creed. When did this country establish a policy of turn your back and run sick employees out. I feel ashamed to have to pen such a letter but it is the only avenue let to this citizen speak his mind.

Two issues

I try to never be angry, ranting, etc., when the mood strikes to send a letter. However, a couple of recent ones, as the expression goes, got under my skin.

First, I agree with much of Jim Costello’s letter in regards to medical marijuana. It should be legal. What the Warner Robins High School dad has to go through is absurd. But what irritated me is his attempt to use the letter to bash the campus carry bill. Why? Because what Costello apparently doesn’t understand is that both medical marijuana and campus carry are both about one thing.

Freedom. Yes, adults should have the right to buy marijuana for medical use. Yes, the moralizing against it is silly given how one can hardly miss advertisements for all sorts of alcohol. But, people should have the right to make their own choices on the best medicine for them (without government support of course) as well as the right to self protection in public places.

Then there’s the matter of John Bennett’s latest letter. I’m honestly not sure where he is and what he pays attention to. First, the reason why any fast food place adds anything to their menu is because they can make money off it. The point is this. Meat, poultry and milk, is not going anywhere. His beliefs about meat and dairy products are well within his rights. But to write and make any claim about the end of meat based upon cherry-picked quotes is just silly.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Thursday, June 8, 2017."