The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1076601
C-8 Wednesday, Januar y 30, 2019 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 Our country has changed in many dramatic ways since it was founded almost 250 years ago. But some things never change. An innate love of freedom is per- haps our most obvious characteris- tic, but another is our can-do spir- it. Americans, by and large, don't sit back and bemoan problems. We look for ways to fix them. Alexis de Tocqueville, the French author of "Democracy in America," noticed this trait first- hand during his extensive travels in the United States during the 1830s. "In the United States, as soon as several inhabitants have taken an opinion or an idea they wish to promote in society, they seek each other out and unite together once they have made contact," he wrote. "From that moment, they are no longer isolated but have become a power seen from afar whose ac- tivities serve as an example and whose words are heeded." It was true then, and it's true now. Americans will volunteer their time, and of course they do- nate to groups who engage in char- itable work both here and abroad. One of the most impressive, I've found, is Spirit of America. Founded by entrepreneur Jim Hake, Spirit of Amer- ica (SoA) has been described by Gen. Stanley A. McChrys- tal, the former com- mander of U.S. forc- es in A fghanistan, as a "philanthropic rapid response team." Its mission is sim- ple: Find out what our troops and diplomats say they need to assist in building bridges to local populations, and then supply it. And not just in the most obvious areas. SoA's work is truly global. Sure, it operates in countries that often dominate the news cy- cle, such as Syria. A few years ago, Spirit of America supplied in- dependent media there with solar- powered radios ($25 each), and ac- tivist Raed Fares and Radio Fresh with warning sirens ($700 each) so that innocent civilians could be warned of attacks by the Assad re- gime and by extremists. But Spirit of America is also in Mongolia, which few Americans ever think about. Mongolia was part of China for more than 200 years, but it has been indepen- dent since 1992. A fter the fall of the Soviet Union, it established diplomatic ties with the United States. To reinforce this bilateral relationship, the U.S. government supports Mongolian education initiatives and border securi- ty. But it can't do ev- erything. So when U.S. officials sought to support early childhood education in Mongolia's Far West, they turned to Spirit of America. The group is now working to supply two specific needs: securi- ty wands for the Mongolian Gener- al Authority for Border Protection to counter transnational crime and the transportation of illicit goods in and out of Mongolia, and com- puters at three separate kinder- gartens to maintain accurate re- cords of students' information. You can find many other exam- ples of SoA lending a hand in oth- er regions around the world. It has purchased English-written books Writing away the winter cold My Point of View by Dr. H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. We have had continuing remind- ers it is winter. Funny, my grand- kids make comments they are wishing it were spring and sum- mer again. I agree. Absence of sunshine indeed makes a different impact on our attitudes. I always remember the comment made by many, " Sun- shine brings smile to our faces." I try to complement this comment with, "Well, sunshine is in your hearts and minds, especially dur- ing gloomy winter times." So when I view on Facebook pictures of my friends and school- mates visiting sunny places in dif- ferent parts of the world, my man- tra evaporates and then some sort of jealousy takes over. Well, some people are indeed blessed. They do enjoy the luck of being able to spend the winter somewhere else. I then go over pictures tak- en during summer with my fam- ily visiting wonderful places dur- ing summer vacation. You've got to look at the bright side of winter like: Christmas, sledding, snow- ball fights, hot chocolates, warm fireplaces, skiing for some, and slipping and sliding while driving. Ooops these last two I don't like. Some do not mind winters, in fact they have commented how much they like cooler weather. Well, my tropical bones do not like it. It is safe to say that our grand- parents would not recognize mod- ern American culture. One of the most egregious symbols of the modernization of morals they would find reprehensible is the right to kill the unborn. A dominate Christian value through the centuries was em- bracing life. The practice of infan- ticide among the ancients was of- ten thwarted by Christians, who rescued infants and children aban- doned to the elements to die by starvation or animal attack. Let that sink in. Politicians who attest to their Christian faith are attacked re- lentlessly in the media. A recent comment in the Indianapolis Star "Sound Off" section read, "Our so-called Christian Vice-Presi- dent Pence should learn about the ninth commandment." The writer is accusing Pence of bearing false witness [lying], yet leaves no writ- ten accusation. This is an example of fake news in Middle America. Just days ago, the news me- dia and our cultural elite led the charge to excoriate a group of Catholic high school students who were in Washington supporting the right- to-life march. This group was accused of cultural insensitiv- ity, bigotry, and in- tolerance toward Na- than Phillips, a Native American. The cul- tural pressure to publicly assault anyone who violates modern social justice norms was felt among the administration of Covington Cath- olic High School and the Archdi- ocese who denounced their own students without the facts. What is now known is the students act- ed honorably and were maligned by Black Israelis, who hurled in- sults and threats at them, and Phil- lips who embellished his claims. Our culture is becoming re- actionary when insensitivity is charged by progressive and so- cial justice warriors who demon- strate a lack of civility and toleration shown towards those that disagree with their morally superior po- sitions. Progressives and social justice war- riors consider them- selves culturally and morally superior to those "deplorables" who disagrees with their positions. A recent turn of events at the University of Oklahoma brings what we are witnessing into sharp focus. Last fall Law Professor Bri- an McCall was pressured into re- signing as associate dean for aca- demic affairs. David Deming, writ- ing in the American Thinker [Tale of Two Professors] wrote, "This re- spected teacher and scholar was pressured into resigning from his position as associate dean for ac- Points to Ponder by Rev. Ford Bond Let us reason together Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 Minority View by Walter E. Williams Who benefits from Democratic control? Continued on page 9 Continued on page 9 In 1976, Gerald Ford won 15 percent of the black vote. That's the most of any recent Republican presidential candidate. In most elections, blacks give Democrats over 90 percent of their votes. It's not unreasonable to ask what have blacks gained from such unques- tioning loyalty to the Democratic Party. A fter all, the absolute worst public safety conditions and other urban amenities for blacks are in cities that have been controlled by Democrats for decades. Let's look at it. What cities are the deadliest for blacks? The Trace, an inde- pendent nonprofit news organi- zation, answers that question. Us- ing 2017 data from the FBI's Uni- form Crime Reporting program, The Trace (http://tinyurl.com/ y9bvwlh2) listed the 20 major U.S. cities with the highest homi- cide rates — factoring in both the number of people murdered in cit- ies and their populations. Chicago, with 589 murders in 2018 — one murder every 15 hours — is often called the nation's murder capital. But that's dead wrong. In 2017, St. Louis had the na- tion's highest murder rate, at 66.1 homicides per 100,000 residents. Baltimore came in sec- ond, with 55.8 mur- ders per 100,000 peo- ple. Detroit was third, with 39.8 murders per 100,000 people. Other cities with high mur- der rates included New Orleans; Kansas City, Missouri; Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; and Newark, New Jer- sey. With 24.1 murders per 100,000 residents, Chicago ranked ninth in the nation. It was followed by Cincinnati and Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., was 17th. Now here's the kicker. Of the 20 most dangerous major cities, all but one had a Democratic mayor. In many of these cities, the Dem- ocratic Party has ruled for a half- century or more. Only Tulsa, Ok- la., with 17.3 murders per 100,000 residents, had a Republican mayor. Who knows what conclusion can be drawn from the finding that the most murderous cities have been controlled by Dem- ocrats — and often black Democrats? I am not suggesting that Democratic con- trol causes murder and mayhem. What I am saying is that mur- der, mayhem and oth- er violent crime are not reduced by the election of black or white Democrats to run our cities. That means one cannot dismiss out of hand a question then-candidate Donald Trump asked black Amer- icans in a 2016 campaign speech in Michigan: "What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump? ... What the [expletive] do you have to lose? " Violent crime is not the on- ly problem for blacks in our ma- jor cities. Because of high crime, poor schools and a less pleasant en- vironment, cities are losing their economic base and their most pro- Fulfilling the true 'Spirit of America' Heritage Viewpoint by Edwin J. Feulner Pursuit of the Cure by Star Parker Parental choice in education is vital Lucid Moments By Bart Stinson How to corrupt kids for fun and profit President Donald Trump is- sued a proclamation declaring this week, Jan. 20 -26, as National School Choice Week. The proclamation expresses concern about performance of U.S. students in international surveys: 24th in reading; 25th in science; 40th in math. And it ascribes the cause of these disappointing statistics to the "consequences of the limita- tions imposed by a largely one- size-fits-all approach to educa- tion." It makes all the sense in the world to appreciate the value of bringing the marketplace and competition to education. Free markets serve us extremely well in delivering goods and services. Why shouldn't one of our nation's most important institutions — ed- ucation — also benefit from com- petition? It is ironic that the political left extols the importance of diversi- ty while also wanting government monopolies. The conclusion should be the opposite. The more diverse a cus- tomer base, ethnically or any oth- er way, the more diversity you need among suppliers to meet and serve the unique needs of differ- ent communities. This can only be achieved in free, private markets. Statistics on the changing eth- nic profile of the students in our public schools speak for them- selves. In 1997, 63.4 percent of the stu- dents in our public schools were white and 36.6 percent were mi- nority — black, Hispanic, Asian and multiracial — students. By I went to an out-of-state sport- ing event recently and was sur- prised to see that a youth dance- and-drumming troupe from my city, just a couple of blocks from our house, preceded us there. The boys drummed, and the girls danced. At halftime, they marched from the lobby onto the basketball court. They had remarkable stage pres- ence. They knew how to hold an audience's attention, starting with the throbbing, thunderous pulse of the drums. The girls strode in with eye contact from heads held high, a procession rather than a mere entrance. Then, at center court, the danc- ing began. It was quite skillful, even acrobatic. An adult man crouched at courtside holding up fingers and gesticulating to direct the girls. They appeared to range from six or seven years of age to mid-teens. As the pace quickened and the percussion loudened, the girls' dancing changed. By the time the drumming climaxed, their dance was vulgar and salacious. If the crouching man had post- ed a video of these children's dance online, instead of present- ing them live in a college gym- nasium, he might have had legal difficulties. If some of these girls were adults, including some who appeared to be fifth-graders, they would have all the requisite exot- ic dance moves for employment in an Atlanta strip club. The audience was mostly mid- dle-aged and older small-town Midwestern folks. They were too polite not to applaud the young- sters who had obviously worked so hard, and traveled so far to en- tertain them. But they must have thought to themselves that some- thing has gone terribly wrong in America. There are a lot of good people in- vesting themselves in the encour- agement and moral formation of children and adolescents in this country, but we have also trusted some of the wrong people with our children. Whoever corrupted those lit- tle girls should experience strong community disapproval, maybe criminal prosecution. If I were the parent or grandparent of one of those girls, I don't think I'd be waiting for the prosecutors to take action. But how much better it would be to proactively intervene and prevent children's victimization in the first place. We've got to be more suspicious, and more asser- tive. Don't ever let glib, articulate predators' allies talk you out of pro- tecting your youngsters. You are under no obligation to accommo- date their access to your children. Child corruption is big busi- ness, of course. It's institutional- ized in the music and television in- dustries, and the watchdogs have been compromised. The Gannett media chain, that recently took over the daily news- paper in my town, has starkly mis- represented public opinion about indecency, and there's no reason to believe that will ever change. The mainstream media rarely take in- decency seriously, except when it serves as a criticism of Donald Trump. There is no appeasing these people. They respect no boundar- ies. There is no wholesome refuge from them that they will voluntari- ly accord us and our families. Currently, my library is funding and actively collaborating with the San Francisco-based "Drag Queen Story Hour," in which dolled-up transvestites are invited to read stories to small children. This travesty has its own nation- al network that solicits contribu- tions by PayPal to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City of- fices. "Drag Queen Story Hour is just what it sounds like," according to its website, "drag queens read- ing stories to children in libraries, schools and bookstores." The Gannett machine in our town justified the Story Hour with