Tag: politics

Newnan is better than the NY Times thinks we are!

~ Steve Swope ~ 2 Comments

merlin_163915533_f3dfa637-8954-457b-bce3-733a79b52c8d-superJumbo This article by Audra D.S. Burch, is on the front page of the NY Times today. It is not a completely fair representation of our community. While there were some nativist goofballs who raged against it, the portraits were widely accepted in our community. The article neglects to mention that the night before the bozo Neo-Nazi’s came to town our citizens (black, white, hispanic, asian, and more) all flooded downtown merchants and restaurants with shopping/dining to support them because they would be closed the next day. To be downtown that night was to see a celebration of the diversity, community spirit, and integrity that is a hallmark of my hometown of Newnan. That is just one example of the diverse citizens of Newnan coming together. I posted about this celebration of our community back then: #NotWelcomeHere and the resulting embarrassment of the Neo-Nazi fools #YouCantFixStupid. 

A bit more focus in today’s article on the positive race relations in Newnan would have made this article a shining example of what a community can be when it actually honors and respects the dignity of ALL of its citizens. By the way, the people depicted in these portraits are what makes Newnan so wonderful that the population has more than tripled in the 35 years I have lived here. The acceptance of this diversity is what makes our community thrive.

“The Lights of Learning and Reason”

~ Steve Swope ~ 1 Comment

Kennedy

In the undelivered speech he intended to give at the Dallas Trade Mart on November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy wrote, “In a world of complex and continuing problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, America’s leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain the popular ascendancy with their seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem.”

We live in a complex and difficult world but we should realize that the world has always been complex and difficult.  Historically, when people feel that the challenges that they face in their own generation and lives are becoming insurmountable they tend to look for a cause for their pain, dissatisfaction, hurt or difficulty.  They often decide that the cause is some “other person” or group of people and they become susceptible to believing the “simple solutions to every world problem” that those who confuse “rhetoric with reality” put forward.   Continue reading ““The Lights of Learning and Reason”” →

#Dreamers – Congress Call in Day

~ Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

DACASpeak Up!  Congress is dithering as usual and your voice is needed.  DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals expires soon.

Polling in the United States consistently shows that an astounding 87% of all American citizens support bi-partisan action in Congress to protect the nearly 1.8 million Dreamers, young people who were brought into the United States by their parents as children.  There is no other issue in our country where such a huge majority of Americans are in agreement.  The problem is that Congress, as usual, cannot get its act together.  We can change that and each of us should speak up.

Please participate in the DACA Call-in Day to Congress on Monday, February 26, 2018! Continue reading “#Dreamers – Congress Call in Day” →