The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1061312
C-12 Wednesday, December 12, 2018 The Press-Dispatch OPINION Submit Letters to the Editor: Letters must be signed and received by noon on Mondays. Email: editor@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate ac- tion is taken against problems fac- ing mankind." Sounds dire. A reaction to the National Climate Assessment pub- lished the day after Thanksgiv- ing? No. Harvard biologist George Wald made that claim in 1970. So if Wald had been correct, just about everything would have crumbled to ruin sometime be- tween 1985 and 2000. Wald, however, wasn't alone. He and others came up with some in- credibly over-the-top predictions as the 1960s came to a close. "Earth Day" founder Denis Hayes, for example, didn't hedge his bets: "It is already too late to avoid mass starva- tion." Or take Paul Ehrlich (please). The author of 1968's "The Population Bomb" was another gloom- and-doom proph- et who made so ma- ny failed predictions over the years that it's almost hard to keep count. "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make," he said in a 1970 interview. "The death rate will increase until at least 100 -200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next 10 years." Off by about 180 degrees. Food pro- duction spiked in the ensuing years. And starvation on such a massive scale never materialized, thank God. Many other exam- ples could be cited (I haven't even touched on predictions by global- warming luminaries such as Al Christmas brings such joy My Point of View by Dr. H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. In about two weeks we will cele- brate one of the greatest wonders of our Christian faith. Christmas brings such a joy to everyone who welcomes this great event. Wait a minute, I think even in places which do not subscribe to our belief, there is some sort of cel- ebration that takes place. Unfortu- nately mostly a commercial activ- ity void of the spiritual aspect of the event. So on my part, one of the things I have done since about 1980 is to set up a Nativity scene and put up some nice lights on our yard. Now let me tell you, putting to- gether the figurines which light up has become both a challenge and a joy to do. I noticed it is hard- er to carry them around, harder to connect the wires, harder to string lights. Must be something connected with aging? I am so glad I have a helper who patiently assists me in doing this- Michael Johnson- I noticed we now both huff and puff as we carry the stuff and put bricks into the fig- urines to prevent them from top- pling over. Once the set is all done, and the lights are turned on, there is indeed a sense of delight which is hard to explain. Brings back ma- ny memories from the time of my childhood to this septuagenarian time of my life. I promised myself for as long as I can enjoy doing this activity, I'll try my best not to quit. I noticed when I drive around different places and The 21st century will be a decid- ing era as to which world monothe- istic religion obtains cultural dom- inance in the world. Judaism, though only compris- ing less than 2 percent of the popu- lation, carries great clout through- out the Western Hemisphere. Christianity, which was the foundation for the Western Hemi- sphere and European culture is be- ing replaced by multiculturalism and the demand that everyone co- exists. Islam has as its basic tenant Ji- had, which means to overcome all other religions, and is making in- roads in Europe and the Americas. It will not by its nature submit to coexistence. Period! Columnists Pat Buchannan, who has been accused of harbor- ing all the phobias of Western Civ- ilization, has simply stated that by looking at the birthrates between the great religions, Is- lam will be in a domi- nate majority in some areas of Europe by 2050 and worldwide by 2100, unless there is an intervention either by increased birth- rates among white Eu- ropeans or drastic un- democratic means to force Islam into a mi- nority role. However, a recent op-ed piece by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Sunday Telegraph brings the crisis among Christians in the Middle East to the forefront: "Christians in Middle East at risk of Imminent Extinction." Since the First Gulf War of 1991, Christiany in mny Islamic ma- jority countries has been under trememndous perse- cution from Pakistan to Egypt. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canter- berry, warns, "Chris- tians in the Middle East are at risk of 'im- minent extinction' due to the continued 'threat of violence, murder, intimidation, prejudice and poverty.'" Little notice is given by the Western press of the daily tribu- lations of Middle Eastern Chris- tians. What we are constantly bom- barded with are any and all insin- uations that someone made a re- mark or acted in an Anti-Semitic Points to Ponder by Rev. Ford Bond Crisis in Christianity Continued on page 13 Continued on page 14 Continued on page 13 Continued on page 13 The Weekly by Jill Heuring Say it ain't so, I will not grow Minority View by Walter E. Williams Miseducated or stupid? Continued on page 13 Continued on page 14 Continued on page 14 A recent Victims of Commu- nism Memorial Foundation sur- vey found that 51 percent of Amer- ican Millennials would rather live in a socialist or communist coun- try than in a capitalist country. Only 42 percent prefer the latter (http://tinyurl.com/ybsejy3f ). Twenty-five percent of millenni- als who know who Vladimir Len- in was view him favorably. Lenin was the first premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Half of Millennials have never heard of Communist Mao Zedong, who ruled China from 1949 to 1976 and was responsible for the deaths of 45 million Chinese people. The number of people who died at the hands of Josef Stalin may be as high as 62 million. Howev- er, almost one-third of Millennials think former President George W. Bush is responsi- ble for more killings than Stalin (http:// tinyurl.com/yb43dl- hm). By the way, Ad- olf Hitler, head of the National Social- ist German Workers' Party, was responsible for the deaths of about 20 million people. The Nazis come in as a poor third in terms of history's most prolific mass murderers. According to professor Rudolph Rummel's research, the 20th cen- tury, mankind's most brutal cen- tury, saw 262 million people's lives destroyed at the hands of their own governments (http:// tinyurl.com/lu8z8ab). Young people who weren't alive during World War II and its Cold War aftermath might be forgiven for not knowing the horrors of socialism. Some of their be- liefs represent their having been indoc- trinated by their K- 12 teachers and col- lege professors. There was such leftist hate for former President George W. Bush that it's not out of the question that those 32 per- cent of Millennials were taught by their teachers and professors that Bush murdered more people than Cold facts about climate warming Heritage Viewpoint by Edwin J. Feulner Pursuit of the Cure by Star Parker Thinking about what's right in America Amid this holiday season of re- flection, I'm thinking about Amer- ica's future. A new poll from Gallup serves up some sobering data regarding how young Americans feel about their country. Gallup asked the question, "Do you think the U.S. has a unique character that makes it the great- est country in the world, or don't you think so? " Eighty percent said "yes," Amer- ica is the greatest country, in 2010 and 78 percent said yes in 2018. However, among 18 - to 34-year- olds, 80 percent said yes in 2010 but this dropped by 18 percentage points in 2018 to 62 percent. It's troubling to think that now 4 out of 10 young Americans do not see their nation as exceptional and the greatest in the world. Maybe there is a sense creeping into our youth that America is no longer the land of opportunity that it once was. In a 2017 Pew Research Global Attitudes and Trends survey, only 37 percent of Americans said they believed so when asked, "When children today grow up, will they be better off financially than their parents? " This compared with 82 percent in China (in 2016), 69 per- cent in Chile and 50 percent in Is- rael. According to recent data from the Brookings Institution, just 50 percent of those born in 1984 earn more than their parents, compared with 61 percent of those born in 1970 and 79 percent of those born in 1950. But if America's youth are los- ing a sense that this is a land of dreams, this sentiment doesn't seem to be shared by the million immigrants who arrive in the U.S. every year. According to a new study by the National Foundation for American Policy, 55 percent of privately held startup companies in the U.S. now worth more than a billion dollars were started by immigrants from 25 different countries. The study reports that the col- lective value of these firms found- ed by immigrants is $248 billion and each company employs an av- erage of 1,200 people. Most of these immigrant en- trepreneurs came to the U.S. to study as international students and chose to stay and become cit- izens. However, some arrived as refugees and were sponsored by family members. This all tells me that America is still a land of dreams and opportu- nity. Are there things wrong with this country? Certainly. But there still is plenty that is right. Those who choose to uproot from nations all over the world to come here and start their lives an- ew are interested in what is right, not what is wrong. I like this quote from former T V personality Art Linkletter, who ob- served, "Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." There's an important point here. Success is not just about one's cir- cumstances, but also what is hap- pening inside of each individual — one's character. The holidays are a good time to think about this. I suggest two things. First, let's look at what is right about Amer- ica. And second, let every Amer- ican ask themselves if they truly believe they are the best they can be, and if not, why not? Let's each take personal respon- sibility to make ourselves and our country as great as possible and stop thinking that it's others and circumstances that block our path. I think the nation would soar, even with the things that are wrong, if all Americans got out of bed each morning with the sense that what happens to them is not because of anything but what they themselves choose to do. And, if at the same time, we related to our- selves and everyone else as creat- ed in the image of God. We all would discover how much Farewell to the George H.W. Bush era Lucid Moments by Bart Stinson I know everyone says it, but they say it because it's true – kids grow up too fast! I'm still a young parent, I know. But my goodness, I really did just blink and suddenly I have an al- most-three-year-old. You heard me right, Flannery turns three this month. THREE. And while I could certainly write for days about the perils and pit- falls of planning a toddler birthday party, I'm actually here today to celebrate another milestone. Flan- nery has been taking dance les- sons for the last, oh, six months, and last Sunday was her first-ever performance. I used to groan at the idea of go- ing to children's concerts, perfor- mances and the like. Who really wants to listen to squeaky voic- es hit maybe one note of a whole song, or watch tiny dancers per- form, like, two whole moves? Well, my friends, love is blind and deaf, because I could listen to Flan- nery's squeaky voice and watch her little feet move forever. I've never felt as much pride or love as I did while watching Flannery per- form her dances with her friends. The show wasn't without its hiccups; Flannery is still a tod- dler, after all. She is still grasping the concept of "waiting your turn," so she didn't understand why she couldn't just keep dancing when other acts were on (but hey, she obviously didn't have any stage fright)! Of course, there was a hole in her pantyhose straight out of the package and she wouldn't stop messing with it, which as any la- dy knows just makes it worse. And when the dance teacher couldn't find her music as she and her friends were waiting to perform their elf dance, instead of stand- Millie was a rail-thin older la- dy with ornate eyeglasses, a heart of gold and a raspy voice from de- cades of chain smoking. She would die soon. But in 1980, she was host- ing our Republican precinct cau- cus at her apartment in Seattle public housing. She was a devot- ed supporter of Sen. Howard Bak- er of Tennessee for president. She had met him once, and he spoke kindly to her. Jimmy Carter made a Republi- can out of me. I felt his Panama Ca- nal decision as a betrayal, I was ex- periencing the consequences of his economic "stagflation," and I didn't like the emerging racial arson— then in its embryonic phase— under Carter appointee Andrew Young. I was a married University of Washington sophomore, and I stepped away from our raucous household for a couple of hours to ex- press my urgent, cor- rect and absolutely in- dispensable opinions to the tolerant, nur- turing party faithful who crowded into Mil- lie's living room. They elected me a delegate to the district caucus that would be held in nearby Co- lumbia City, a working-class neigh- borhood along Rainier Avenue in southern Seattle. If you know Columbia City now, you probably think of it as a hip, cosmopolitan area of exotic restau- rants and live music. But that's not the only thing that's changed since 1980. I was supporting businessman Benja- min Fernandez for president. He was the kind of triumphant American overcomer who could make you go misty-eyed (unless you're Andrew Cuo- mo) about the grand, miraculous republic our ancestors built on this savage continent. Born in a boxcar in the Kansas City railroad yards to illit- erate illegal aliens, literally penni- less, working alongside parents and seven siblings in the fields of