This is Viewpoints for Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Another great celebration

Last weekend, Ocmulgee National Monument welcomed thousands of visitors from all over the country to the 26th annual Ocmulgee Indian Celebration.

The Ocmulgee National Monument Association wishes to thank everyone who made this unique event possible. The National Park Service staff, under Jim David’s leadership, did an incredible job in cleaning up after Tropical Storm Irma, which allowed the celebration to continue. A dedicated group of volunteers supported the festivities in myriad ways.

The celebration would not be possible without the generous contributions of our sponsors. This year we appreciate The Telegraph, iHeart Media, GEICO, Harvey’s Supermarket, Navicent Health, Wal-Mart, Northrop Grumman, the Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau, NewTown Macon and Taylor Restrooms 2 Go.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my personal gratitude to Terry Jones, the outgoing president of the ONMA. Several years ago, Terry revitalized the organization and ensured its future in a way few people probably recognize. Terry and his wife Kathy, who runs the ONMA’s lemonade stand, have served as role models of selfless hard work, and the association cannot thank them enough. Similar tribute must be paid to Lisa Lemon, whose tireless (and year-round) work makes the celebration possible. We also thank her family for letting her abandon them for Ocmulgee so often and volunteering their time throughout the year.

Thanks to the Macon-Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and all the EMS professionals on hand, who kept the celebration safe and running smoothly. Thanks to all the performers, vendors, and especially the representatives of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. If native nations had not persisted, and thrived, there would be nothing to celebrate at Ocmulgee each September. This year, Jim and Carol Floyd, the Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and his wife, graced the Ocmulgee Indian Celebration, highlighting the continued connection between the nation and its ancestral home.

As we look forward to the 2018 Ocmulgee Indian Celebration, please consider joining the ONMA (https://www.ocmulgeemounds.org/) or following us on social media.

The problem is...

The tragic recent shootings in Macon cry out for an answer, but one that apparently is not easy to actually talk about. Surviving parents and friends, and some community “leaders” cry out for change, but no one seems to be willing to mention the “unmentionable.” When I first started taking The Telegraph, and reading Charles Richardson’s articles to those whom he would call “his people,” he and I communicated regularly about his articles’ contents. He would come so close to actually addressing the root cause, but just wouldn’t call it out. I repeatedly reminded him that all social statistics and studies have shown that the one common factor between crime, poverty and poor education is illegitimacy.

With the black population in America pushing an 80 percent illegitimacy rate, today’s children are doomed to being raised in the same failed society that their parents grew up in, when unwed parenthood was lower, but still significantly higher than the national norm. The key to changing the continued story of tragedy in Macon, and elsewhere, boils down to a poem I sent to Charles almost monthly (albeit with different names):

Johnny and Suzie sitting in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

First comes Love, then comes Marriage,

Then comes Suzie with a baby carriage.

Get the lines in a different order, and the whole thing falls apart. What’s going to be in the news next weekend?

The answer

Clyde Ellerbee Jr. asked two questions in his “About time” letter to the editor. “Was the war about slavery or states’ rights?” Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens answered that question for him in his 1861 speech: “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas, its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man, that slavery subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government is the first, in the history of the world based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth…”

His second question “Is this a great country or what?” Yes Clyde, we have is a great country but we could be so much better.

History lesson

Meaza Fluellen can give the “poor, poor us” routine a rest. Either she slept through history class, or her history teacher needs to be fired. For her to take the recent hurricanes, in which neighbors helped neighbors without a thought about race, and use them so dishonestly and selfishly to heap guilt on Americans over something that happened long before any of us were born, says more about her own racism than anyone else.

Many blessings

The Methodist Home for Children and Youth would like to say thank you to the Middle Georgia community for the support during our Hurricane Irma relief efforts. We were blessed by the community support, which allowed us to not only serve 118 children and staff (and dogs) from The Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, but also 70 children and staff from each of our campuses in South Georgia.

Many kind people reached out to learn about our needs; thus, The home received many donations ahead of the storm. We were blessed with many contributions, which were shared with Riverside UMC shelter and Vineville UMC who sheltered first responders.

We were able to serve over 5,000 meals over the course of one week. We also offered support to other ministries after Hurricane Irma, including our neighbors at Magnolia Manor. After the storm, our children and staff helped the residents of Magnolia Manor with cleanup and also delivered meals to them during their power outage.

What a week of grace, hospitality and blessings. So many people sent gifts, called or helped. The Methodist Home is overwhelmed by God’s grace and provision. We are truly alive together in Christ.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Tuesday, September 26, 2017."