HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Feb. 25, 2006 1) Okay, folks, let me try saying this one more time. Say it with me at home if you’re so inclined: The Republican Party of 2006 is not the same Republican Party of 1866. There, now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Let’s give the party credit—in its day, it represented progressive, forward-thinking folks who, despite their own prejudices, sought to do right by their fellow man. That changed after Jesse Helms and other like-minded Democrats decided to ride elephants instead of donkeys. The fact that black membership among Republicans is increasing is a good sign. For starters, it’s proof that we’re not locked into a heard mentality. It’s also proof that blacks can be every bit as conservative in their morals and beliefs as whites—in many cases, even more so. But it’s going to take those blacks already in the party to reach out and convince others who remain solidly Democrat, or who have abandoned the Democrats and struck out on their own search for truth, that the party really wants them. 2) While I’m at it, let me say this one more time. Again, you can follow along at home if you like: Darrell Mease and Susan Smith are still alive. And surely, I can’t be the only person on the block who has a problem with that. These two people are part of the reason that I cannot, in good conscious, support the death penalty as it is currently practiced. It is more about politics than it is about justice, and has almost nothing to do with the Bible. 3) Since I’m in the vicinity of God, let’s remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. It doesn’t belong there. Huh?! I won’t go back through the history of the Pledge. But here’s my point--the phrase “under God” was not part of the Pledge originally. There’s a great cartoon from the 1930s in which Porky Pig recites the Pledge in its original state. When I heard it the very first time, I thought it was the oddest thing. Of course, I grew up hearing and reciting “under God” in the Pledge. So why doesn’t it belong now? For the same reason it didn’t belong then. Loyalty is being pledged to a piece of cloth—a very important piece of cloth, for which blood has been shed and lives have been lost, but a piece of cloth nonetheless. There is no religious significance in that. And as there’s no religious requirement tied to our citizenship in this country, there should be no religious significance tied to the Pledge of Allegiance. Besides, the last time this country was truly under God, none of us were around. 4) As long as I’m the neighborhood of Patriotism, I want to take a moment to thank every man and woman who is currently serving in our armed forces. The strength of our national defense is due in large part to the people who serve in our military. That includes the infantry on the ground fighting the insurgents in Iraq; the radar operators at Cheyenne Mountain watching for threats to our airspace; the naval aviators flying CAP for the fleet in the Mediterranean; and the marines risking their lives to get medical attention to a needy child. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines don’t get nearly enough credit for the job that they do. It’s one of the hardest jobs in the world, but it is also necessary to preserve our way of life. This grateful American thanks all of you. 5) And that brings me to my final point to ponder. I’d like to see the minimum age for consuming alcohol rolled back to 18. Why? Recently, an 18-year old white male got onto I-485 in Charlotte going the wrong direction. A fiery crash put him in the hospital and killed two people who were only a few years older than him. Investigators found out that the young man had been drinking at a party thrown by an 18-year old black male. The scorecard, for those of you at home, reads like this: 2 lives lost, 2 lives destroyed. In other words, there are no winners. Underage drinking was a problem during my days in college, and it remains a problem now. Unfortunately, there’s a stereotype associated with underage drinking, particularly as it relates to driving—white males and their parents, who swear that their child wouldn’t do such a thing. That’s not to say that underage drinking is exclusively a white problem. On the contrary, it’s everybody’s problem. Eighteen-year-olds are considered adults in the eyes of the law, especially if they do something wrong. Uncle Sam sees them as adults, too, because they would be eligible to be shipped off to the front in the case of a national draft and because they’re eligible to determine who would make the decision to draft them. And there are still quite a few companies that welcome 18-year-olds on board to earn their keep and contribute to the bottom line. Even though the number of underage drunk-driving accidents has decreased over the years, other dangerous alcohol-related behavior, such as binge drinking and unprotected sexual intercourse, has gone up. And according to MADD’s website, many children, especially those in 6th to 12th grade range, are not getting essential parental guidance or discipline related to underage alcohol use. If an 18-year-old can go off to battle for her country, shouldn’t she be allowed to responsibly enjoy a Bud when she comes back home? ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
