I am disturbed by Mike Collins’s (our congressman) letter to the Elberton Star, August 16. I am disturbed because of his misperception of the real problem concerning our southern border. There is a border and that border should be honored. However, there is moral truth, and that should be honored too. To hear Mr Collins describe it, one would be asked to believe that all who were trying to get into our country in order to escape corrupt governments and drug cartels, and collusion between the two, are all evil and not worthy of any respect. So many risk their lives to come here in order to escape conditions that these forces have created. Their courage is undeniable.

I am aware, that the US Constitution does not mention Christianity, or any other religion. Separation of church and state is necessarily fundamental if reason is to have any substance or power in our collective decision making. Christians disagree amongst themselves about what scripture means and how it should be interpreted. Thus, we have many Christian denominations, and even divisions within these. To me, it all turns out to be personal.

We do live in a Christian culture that heavily embraces and identifies with Christian teachings. It is a part of the core makeup of our character.

Reason is the mathematics of spoken language. Mathematics is not biased, and neither should reason be.

Jesus said, “when you have done it unto the least of these… you have done it unto me”. I don’t think he was playing with words here. I think he was uttering words loaded with truth. I think he was pointing to the truth that we are all connected. That what happens to one human-being on one side of the globe, affects all human-beings on the other side. We are all part of the same family, the same body.

I cannot see how Mr Collins reconciles his conscience with the notion that the hopes and dreams of these refugees are any different than those of his own ancestors, who left their homelands for basically the same reasons. Can one really demonize one without demonizing the other?

Most of the drugs that come here from Mexico, come across at legal points of entry. They are craftily hidden in vehicles, both civilian and commercial. It’s all business. In backpacks with loose-ended destinations the risk is too high and the payback is too low.

We in the US have played a large part in the creation of the drug industry that exists south of our border. Our demand for these drugs has helped create the conditions that cause these people who become refugees to exist. The cartels have stolen the economies of these people. We and our black markets, have supported the cartels.

A refugee in a child’s classroom could be a strong benefit. A refugee might naturally have gratitude for his/her new-found safe, welcoming, and stimulating environment. Naturally gratitude is contagious. And from what I understand, is very much needed.

Everyone should read the forty-five page federal indictment against former President Donald Trump. I will even float the idea that it is one’s patriotic duty to do so. It might be, like in wartime, patriotism that is critical to the survival of our democracy. 

Those who would want to defend the ex-president, especially should read it, in order to become aware of the charges being levied against him. Do this, if for no other reason, than to generate empathy for his cause and possibly provide help with his defense through truthful and civil discourse and prayer. Plus, one might find real evidence of a “witch-hunt”, which could be identified and then shared with the public, thus putting an end to so much madness.

The indictment explains all the charges, the reasoning behind them,  and how they came to be. 

Ultimately twelve citizens approved and chosen by the prosecuting and defense attorneys will decide whether the charges have merit or not. I am quite certain that some of those who will be sitting on that jury will have voted for Mr. Trump and quite likely there will be some who would vote for him again.

It is the prosecutor’s challenge to convince the jury just how the ex president committed crimes against everyone. The indictment states that he broke laws which provide foundational support to our democracy. (Reminder: democracy is the only political idea in the universe that values each and every person as being worthy of respect. Anything less than this initiates tyranny in one way or another)

It is the defense attorney’s job to convince each member of the jury how the charges have no merit.

We shall see.

The indictment can be found online by googling “2020 election indictment pdf”. You can also have this document read aloud to you at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prosecuting-donald-trump/id1679657705?i=1000623147258

It is vital to know what is happening at the fundamental level of our democratic republic. One thing is for certain, democracy’s survival is not guaranteed and its only weapon of defense and protection of lasting worth is awareness.

Be aware and be in the know. Read the indictment.

Jack Schatz

Bowman

The Second Amendment to the Constitution reads:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Is there parallel in the following statement?

A well regulated highway network, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to operate vehicles, shall not be infringed.

Wokeism is a term/word one hears often these days. Usually, it seems to be used in a negative way. I hear some politicians pledging to defeat wokeism. 

What is wokeism? Or what does it mean to be woke?

A dictionary will define woke as something like “… being alert to (social, economic, and/or political)) injustice and discrimination…” Like all words in all languages, it is one invented to fit a situation unique to its time. It then becomes part of that culture as a tool for understanding. I read that the first usage of the word came about in the nineteen sixties.

I see the word as a positive. It obviously derives from the word awake,  Awake means to be aware. To be aware means to pay attention to ones surroundings and ones world (which does not include only oneself). To pay attention, I have always been taught and have come to recognize as true myself, is something which is necessary, and even vital, for well being and survival. I like to think that I am awake and aware and that I pay attention to my world. So, I guess I am woke. Thinking further, I would rather think of myself as being woke rather than unwoke, or asleep.

I think that most of my friends are woke. We don’t agree on everything, but we do agree that there are certain subjects that require discussion, not just for our own well being, but for the well being of future generations.

The Founding Fathers were not faced with the end of the world scenarios that we confront today: no nuclear fission, no chemical engineering sufficient to destroy all life, no environmental decline and no climate change, no shortage of natural resources, no world where every soul demands respect, dignity, and a chance at freedom, no world with 8 billion humans who want to be provided for and be free and experience dignity. We are currently demanding a lot from our planet with little and lacking thought and action of putting things back.

Woke people know that these situations exist and that something must be done intentionally to address them and curb their impact. There are no other options. We can’t put these genies back in their bottles. 

So, beware of politicians who demonize the word woke, or wokeism. They only want to hold and gather more power. They do not want their world to change even if it means your world remains undesirably unchangeable and when in reality change is always a constant. For peaceful change, we must have civility. The simple formula for civility is democracy and we all know that democracy is not simple. It requires hard work, respect, forgiveness, and even reverence.  Ours is a challenging world, but one underlayed with opportunity and excitement.

So, I think wokeism is good, even if it is not always right. Mistakes and missteps are vital parts of the learning process. I’ll be glad when everyone is woke and we can move on together and solve, step by step, all these our unique and common problems.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton