The pleasure's been all mine

We use an old pleasantry when people tell us they have enjoyed working with us or having us over for dinner. “It’s been a pleasure,” they say, and we respond, “The pleasure’s been all mine.”

I had the opportunity to oversee one of the best departments at Standard-Coosa-Thatcher, the spooling and winding department at the Thatcher Plant in Ridgedale. I first worked with, then supervised a group of men and women that came to work every day, gave their best, and showed me what it meant to be a friend.

When I decided to move in a different direction, some of them told me that I was good supervisor, and that they hated to see me leave. I feel certain that the next guy was at least as good a boss as I was, and chances are he was better. But I can assure you that I’m a better person because of the friendships I made while there.

On my last day, my department manager, Eddie Werndli, told me that he had enjoyed working with me. “The pleasure’s been all mine,” I assured him.

A few years later, I decided that I might have something to offer the citizens of Walker County as a member of the Board of Education. I loved to study education issues; I knew what it was like to have a child in the system; I had worked as a volunteer on some of the extra-curriculars, and felt the bite when taxes went up.

I went out with some friends knocking doors every Saturday (and some weekday evenings) and told people what I had seen and heard in the school system, and how I thought things could be improved. I sat in many living rooms, drank a lot of iced tea, and listened as parents and taxpayers told me what was on their minds.

Today, I advise any candidate for office to knock doors – not because I think it’s the best way to win – but because it’s the best way to learn what the people of your district or county are thinking.

More people agreed with what I had to say than didn’t, and as a result, I spent four years reading budget books, curriculum guidelines, proposed policies and legislation, and answering phone calls at unusual hours. I learned more than I ever could have if I hadn’t served. Furthermore, my life has been enriched because of the dear friends I’ve made, friends that I hope I have for life.

When I left the board, I had many supporters tell me that they appreciated what I had done. “The pleasure has been all mine,” I told them.

I’ve been writing regular columns for almost three years, and it’s been a learning experience. I’ve discovered a lot about human nature in general. I’ve learned more about myself specifically. Like everything else I’ve done, I’ve benefited far more from the experience than I’ve contributed to it.

Most readers have no idea how much time it takes to write a regular column. Sure, it’s easy if you do nothing but jot down some thoughts, but when you actually try to research a topic and support your opinion with facts, it can be time consuming. The average column, with background reading and research, takes three to four hours a week. More in-depth topics may require 6 to 8 hours of preparation and writing.

My columns about impact fees took hours of research, and the report I wrote about lottery expenditures was the result of a full weekend of work, several pots of coffee, and some worn out calculator buttons.

Of course, I learned far more about the subjects I studied than you, the reader, did. And that’s my fault, not yours. I tried to be as clear and convincing as possible when I presented my findings, but too many times my enthusiasm got in the way.

Circumstances have dictated that I curtail my writing schedule. I need to spend more time fulfilling responsibilities with my family and where I worship, and as I’ve reviewed my “time budget,” I’ve discovered that writing is about the only area I have where I may cut.

“In My Humble Opinion” will no longer be a regular feature on these pages. I’ll continue the “In My Humble Opinion Civil Service Award” column each year, and if my editors allow I will submit a guest column when appropriate. I express my deepest gratitude to the editors who have worked with and encouraged me. Writing for the publications with which I’ve been affiliated has, like my other experiences, made me a better person. I’ve made friends through this column that I would never have known otherwise.

For those who have written to offer a word of support, I thank you. You may have enjoyed a column or two, but I promise you that I’ve enjoyed writing every one of them. The pleasure, it seems again, has been all mine.

King for a Day

Anyone who cares deeply about an issue or issues has thought sometime that if they were king for a day they could set the world straight. Well, I don’t think I could set the world straight – in fact, I feel a bit like country music singer Gene Watson – the more I live, the more I learn just how little I know. But I know how I would like to see things work.

Here’s a quiz -- if I were king for a day, I would:

a) Require every family to attend a fundamentalist Christian church.
b) Make every family own at least one gun.
c) Eliminate all taxes on every household with an income over $100,000.
d) Force every employee to work a 50-hour week with no overtime pay.
e) Abolish all forms of pre-school day care.
f) Open a restaurant chain serving only endangered species dishes.
g) Open every natural park to clear-cutting and oil exploration.
h) All of the above.
i) None of the above.

Though I’m sure some of you think otherwise, the correct answer is “None of the above.”

It’s true that I hope everyone would become a Christian, but I know they won’t, and the world is a better place because of the moral code and respect for humanity taught by the world’s major religions. I love religious liberty – and that means that I respect your right not to worship at all if you so choose.

I do believe though, as did our founders, that there is a place for general religious principle in public life. As the Supreme Court wrote in Church of the Holy Trinity vs. United States, “The happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government essentially depend on piety, religion, and morality.”

I don’t think anyone should be forced to own a gun, but I certainly don’t want you coming for mine. If you don’t want one, that’s fine. But I agree with Thomas Paine, who said, “…[guns], like laws, discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property.”

We need tax reform and soon. Eastern Europe is full of nations with flat tax rates, and their economies are growing at record paces. Ireland adopted a low flat tax and the ensuing investment and job boom has made it the second richest nation in Europe. A flat tax would be better than our present system, but I favor a national consumption tax. Congressman John Linder’s “Fair Tax” plan fits the bill to a tee.

The Congressman has written a book with attorney and talk-show host Neal Boortz. When it hits the stands, I’ll be the first in line to get one. I hope you’re right behind me.

I wouldn’t force anyone to work overtime for straight-time pay, but neither would I force an employer to pay overtime. We have forgotten that labor is a market commodity, just like steel or plastic. You have labor to sell; your employer buys it. You should both be free to work out the terms of your employment in any mutually satisfactory way.

Nor would I abolish pre-school classes or day care. But I would get the government out of the mix. If providers want to operate and parents patronize private day cares, so be it. I believe in freedom. But Karl Marx would be thrilled at the increasing intervention of the government into the lives of younger and younger children. Schools have become first providers of social services, and future generations will look to schools as surrogate families.

I’m not sure I would enjoy the taste of an endangered species (unless it tastes like chicken), but the federal government has no constitutional or moral authority to jail a farmer because some rare rodent decided to nest on his back forty. Protect endangered species to the extent you can without trampling private property rights.

I don’t want parks clear-cut, and I don’t cherish the idea of oil derricks everywhere, but I can’t help cracking up as I hear people gripe about gas prices. We have plenty of exploitable oil fields, but we can’t get to them in many cases because of environmental regulations. ANWR is an example: it was originally established with an area set aside for oil exploration and drilling. Now the opponents of exploration are acting as if we’re criminals for proposing to do what the law was designed to do.

So what would I do? If I were king for a day, I would abolish every federal agency not specifically authorized by the Constitution. That alone would take care of most of our problems. But then, the Constitution doesn’t authorize kings either, even for one day.

I’m glad, and I’m sure you are too.

Married, but looking...

My son talks to his friends via instant-messenger service on the internet. Everyone using it chooses an alias, or screen name. They also attach photos of themselves and complete a profile. One of the questions on the profile asks for marital status.

A drop down menu offers the following choices: single, married, long-term relationship, single, but not looking, single and looking, separated, divorced, widow/widower, and yes – married, but looking. I suppose such is par for the course in the “Sex and the City” society in which we live.

We face many problems in America today, but none has more potential for long-term destruction than the libertine sexual mores that are shoved down children’s throats every minute of every day. While disappointed, I’m not surprised. Today’s parents, as well as many other traditional authority figures, are true children of the ‘60’s. They believed the sex-without-consequences lifestyle was the path to emotional freedom.

But the consequences were there all the same. Teen pregnancy, abortions, cases of sexually transmitted disease, depression and suicide have risen steadily and only recently show signs of decline. One must always be careful not to see cause behind every effect, but it does seem interesting that teen sexual activity increased sharply after both Roe vs. Wade and the introduction of sex education in public schools.

According to a recent article in Reader’s Digest, a new game is for teen girls to wear different colored bracelets. If a boy can snatch a bracelet off the girl’s wrist, the color of the band determines what sexual act the girl will perform – from a simple kiss to oral sex or intercourse. In spite of the safe-sex instruction and availability of birth control devices, 25 percent of all new STD cases are amongst teens.

The town of LaGrange, GA was shocked recently by the case of a seven year-old girl forced into the bushes and sexually assaulted. As heartbreaking and disgusting as the story is, we know that pedophiles abuse seven-year old girls. What makes this story different is that the assailants weren’t pedophiles. They were both 10-year-old boys.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Juvenile Court Judge Michael Key stated, "the public needs to be aware our children are committing more and more serious crimes at younger and younger ages." Another judge, Peggy Walker, agreed with Judge Key. "I see younger and younger children doing more serious crimes. And it's not just sex crimes. There is a great deal more violence." Judge Walker blames a lack of parental supervision, as well as a declining cultural standard. "A lot of it,” said Judge Walker, “is…a culture with a great deal of violence and sex. It gives children a sense that this is a lifestyle, and it is an acceptable lifestyle, and that there are not consequences.”

It’s not just young children falling prey to the false promises of sexual ecstasy. College-bound children are leaving home for educational opportunities that will afford them a bright future. Many of these children leave home having been taught proper sexual values, but are affected by what they see once in school.

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, author of “101 Tips for a Happier Marriage,” writes in a recent column, “Yes, the sexual revolution happened 30 years ago. Yes, middle-aged people get exhausted by it, and look around for something more stable. But new recruits are being enlisted every year. In fact, we could say that the college freshmen are conscripts in the sexual revolution, as they are quartered in their co-ed dorms, a situation that is almost sure to make them sexually active. I don't think it is an accident that young people enter college pro-life, and leave college pro-choice. It is not just the content of the propogandistic curriculum they hear in class. It is also the compromised situation in which they are forced to live.”

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we have once again attempted to deny nature. Men are men, and if unrestrained by strong moral convictions will look for easy sex. In past generations, society could count on the virtue of women to restrain the sexual aggression of men, and as a result repress much of the social dysfunction that comes with rampant promiscuity. But today’s girls are becoming the sexual aggressors. And they are paying the price both physically and emotionally.

Fathers, teach your boys sexual restraint – not “sexual responsibility.” And mothers, know this: as go women, so goes society. The success of 2000 years of Western Culture is due primarily to the strength and decency of its women.

Teach your daughters to respect their bodies and their emotions. Teach them virtue. Teach them that real men will love and respect them for their chastity and decency.

Otherwise, they or their husbands may be signing on to Instant Messenger with “Married, but looking” in their profile.