This is Viewpoints for Sunday, August 27, 2017

War rhetoric

I was born and raised in Indiana and taught that the Civil War was all about ending the evil of slavery, and the Confederacy was on the “wrong” side. But living in the South for the past 46 years I have come to realize that I had been fed only one side of the story back in those Indiana schools. There is also the Southern side.

Regardless of moral right or wrong, Southern ancestors fought bravely, faithfully, skillfully, and mostly heroically in a losing cause, against great odds with the vast majority of them having never owned a slave. Confederate soldier memorials are to these qualities, not slavery. There is nothing wrong or racist about memorializing these qualities which have nothing to do with slavery. Other artifacts, like “colored waiting room” above the entrance on the old Macon Terminal Station wall, etched in stone, are another thing.

Slavery as an institution, cannot be defended, where ever in the world it has occurred or is occurring now. The war to end it was America’s most trying time, sometimes putting brothers against each other. What disturbs me these days is that some of the things I hear sound distressingly similar to the discourse (or lack thereof) that brought about the Civil War. Our ancestors on both sides failed to stop the rush to war against each other. What will we do?

Voter turnout

In Ross Hardy’s “clarification” about voter identification and voter fraud on August 17, there are a few misleading statements. The claim that a Voter ID law would disenfranchise a huge chunk of Americans is patently ridiculous on its face. Almost every state issues free picture ID cards to those that do not have a drivers license. I can assure you that anybody wanting to cash a check, get government assistance, or buy alcohol has absolutely no problem producing a free, government-issued ID card, so that argument is disingenuous at best.

As to the 20 states that require an excuse to vote by absentee ballot, almost any reason can be used and I would bet that the person who cannot come up with an excuse for not being able to get to the polls (even with early voting), can come up with plenty of excuses to avoid jury duty. Nobody is “stripping the right to vote” from anybody else, this is just another lame example of the alt-left chicken littles screaming “the sky is falling.” I am a conservative and want every single person to vote who is able to do so. After looking at recent voter turnout numbers, I believe that Hardy is confusing voter disenfranchisement with pure old laziness and apathy. I have seen none of the former, but an overwhelming abundance of the latter.

Tax Deferment Clause

Due to the Department of Revenue submission dead line of Sept. 1, we the taxpayer of Macon-Bibb County are calling for a tax deferment clause be attached to this 3-mill tax increase. Macon-Bibb County and the Chamber of Commerce have used the deferment of taxes to attract businesses affording them time to establish themselves. The taxpayers should be afforded the same courtesy, to adjust our finances accordingly.

No protests of killings

Talk about misplaced priorities. There have been at least 12 blacks murdered in Macon this year. How many were caused by a statue? How many were caused by white men? Would there have been less if the statue had been removed? Talk about priorities of black people. Our actions are still being controlled by emotions. We need economic unity, not marches. We marched 50 years ago and really nothing has changed, actually it’s worst in my opinion.

Racism is a idea you can’t destroy. Young black men are killing each other at a rate equal to Atlanta and some people are worrying about something that has been there forever. Did you all know there has been an average of 15 black-on-black homicides in Macon over the last five years? First thing out of black folks mouths is that whites kill whites. They might, but they don’t slaughter each other like our young black men do. I guess the young black men being killed don’t live in your neighborhood so you really don’t care.

I haven’t seen so much concern for anything else in Macon except the Rosa Parks Park no drinking controversy. I see why the killing never stop in Macon. With the exception of Darryl Jackson and his group, I haven’t seen much protesting to end killings in Macon. If there’s any protest in Macon it won’t have anything to do with the killing spree. That’s a subject black folk don’t like to talk about.

Missed the point

The flurry of recent comments surrounding the removal of Confederate monuments across the country — that they “belong in a museum” — shows that those who are now taking that position about those historic displays have missed the point that statues and monuments really are miniature museums.

Reality

Clyde Ellerbee (Letters to the Editor, Aug. 11) places great faith in Michael Savage’s belief that millions of Americans will revolt if The Donald has to do a perp walk or if Congress gives him a ticket back to New York. Both Savage and Ellerbee might well discover such events play much better in the imagination than in reality. It is one thing to take part in a rally with a group of like-minded people where you can shout and scream things like “Lock her up” and quite another to man a barricade against trained opponents. Fantasy may be fun but reality can be, well, very real.

Outcry?

Where's the outcry to the killings of two hard working individuals in the past couple of days in Macon? People have had enough of the race/slavery/statue coverage lately. Time for news groups to report on more pressing issues like these senseless murders.

Where's the marching in the streets addressing the violence in Macon-Bibb and all across our country? Oh yeah it's not news worthy. Can't offend someone. Why aren't the elected officials and clergy in the area responding and addressing such issues? Again, they can't since it will offend someone. Can't step on toes can we?

Wake up people. It could be someone you know and love that loses their life to scum running around robbing instead of getting a real job. If I stepped on your toes, good, I made my point.

This story was originally published August 26, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Sunday, August 27, 2017."