Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 298, Ed. 1 Monday, December 31, 2012 Page: 4 of 10
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Monday, December 31, 2012
Sweetwater Reporter
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EDITORIAL POLICY
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THE IDLE AMERICAN
On getting it right
So far as I know, there are no findings to suggest that
persons careful to “dot every T and cross every£t’” get
it right significantly more often than the rest of us who
are more prone to be slip-shod in such matters.
Such seemed even more the case in yesterday’s world,
when most communication consisted of complete
sentences and “uncontracted” words. (And we dared
shortening states’ names to abbrevia-
tions only when feeling feisty.)
Mostly, we attempted mightily to “be
ourselves,” understanding that we’ll
make goofs, but never, hopefully, of
the heart. We harbor hope that read-
ers and listeners will be charitable,
understanding and—in some cases—
forgiving.
An art to be practiced in such mat-
ters is merely to smile—as opposed
to laughing out loud or crying—when
someone stumbles.
Preachers are often “sitting ducks”—
okay, maybe “standing ducks”—for a
couple of reasons. They appear regu-
larly in front of the same folks—and sometimes they
try too hard.
Case in point: One parson, urging parishioners to
move closer to the front, explained “the agnostics are
terrible” in the sanctuary. Reckon he meant acous-
tics?
Another pulpit blunder—back in 1998—likewise
was caused by a single word. It occurred when Bill
Clinton’s name was in headlines for other than presi-
dential reasons.
At a Waco church, the Sunday morning prayer was
fervent. It centered on the importance of forgiving.
“He makes mistakes, and we make mistakes. He made
bad choices and so do we. He deserves forgiveness as
much as we who seek it,” etc. It was a lengthy prayer,
and the staffer at the lectern fully intended to end it
with “So please be with our President.”
Instead, he said, “So please be with our pastor.”
Ministers know they’re going to be “second-guessed.”
Dr. Travis Burleson, a Salado pastor, should be so
lucky. Instead, he is “third-guessed, fourth-guessed
and fifth-guessed,” too.
In his flock are five retired pastors, most of them
several years his senior.
Claiming they are typically gentle with him, he
prizes a hand-written note one of them slipped into a
handshake following a sermon. It read: “Your material
was excellent, research solid, illustrations effective.
However, I could have preached it better!”
A guest preacher was not at a “loss for words”
recently. Instead, he was at a “loss for electricity.”
The struggling little church was in arrears on the
electricity bill, and when the preacher arrived for the
Sunday night worship, it was a “candlelight service”—
by necessity.
His sermon notes didn’t do him much good, how-
ever.
Sometimes speakers wander in where angels fear
to tread. I did so at First Baptist Church in Plainview
in November. I knew that Dr. Paul Armes, president
of Wayland Baptist University and an FBC member
there, had taken a nasty fall on his bicycle last fall.
I thought I’d kid him gently, noting that Wayland’s
next catalog will include a course called “Bicycle Safety
101.” There were polite smiles, but little laughter.
What I did NOT know is that a Wayland student had
been struck and killed while bicycling a few weeks fol-
lowing Dr. Armes’ mishap.
The lesson there, of course, is to avoid trivializing
someone else’s mishaps. Speakers typically are much
better off being their own “fall guys.”
Long ago banter can produce smiles. A friend
attended a baseball game at Fort Worth’s LaGrave
Field around 1930. A WWI pilot was performing dar-
ing aerial maneuvers above the field. Two wide-eyed
14 year-olds focused intently on the aerial show.
“Can you imagine anything worse than being up
there in that airplane?” one asked. “Oh, yes,” his friend
answered, “Being up there without that airplane!” (It
may be one of these youngsters who, upon finishing a
theme assignment, bunched several commas and peri-
ods in the corner on the last page—“extras” the teacher
was free to “place wherever needed.”)
Next week, I’ll begin my second decade of weekly
column-writing. Some of it will be “on a wing and a
prayer.” The prayer will be for your continued indul-
gence, forgiving attitude and charitable nature. I hope
some of my stories will make you smile and sometimes
even serve to inspire.
Dr. Newbury is a speaker in the Dallas/Fort Worth
Metroplex. Speaking inquiries/comments: newbury@
speakerdoc.com. Phone: 817-447-3872. Twitter: @
donnewbury. Web site: www.speakerdoc.com.
Don
Newbuiy
CAPITOL COMMENT
Goodbye and thank you
After nearly 20 years
in Washington, this is
my final week as the
senior US Senator from
the great state of Texas.
People often
wonder what
compels a per-
son to run for
public office.
Some think
it’s the power
- though I can
assure them that
being one of a
hundred sena-
tors, particular-
ly when you’re
in the minority,
is as far from
personal power
as one can get. Some
think it’s the excitement
of politics - but anyone
who has been through
a tough, mud-slinging
campaign would fail to
describe the politics part
favorably!
For me, the reason was
to give back to the state
that gave me so much.
I was raised with good
Texas values, in a small
town - La Marque - full
of honest, hardworking
people, in a tight-knit
community with a won-
derful public education
system. Combined with
the world-class educa-
tion I received at the
University of Texas, it
gave me the tools to be
whatever I wanted to
be.
I got my professional
start covering the state-
house at KPRC-TV in
Houston, when the sta-
tion owner took a chance
on a young law school
graduate.
And I was mentored
by great Texans on my
way up the political lad-
der, who continued their
support when I got to
GOEST COLOMN
the Senate and have
stood solidly with me
ever since.
For this I am grate-
ful, and for this I have
sought to give
back, as have
all the Texans
with whom I’ve
had the plea-
sure of serving.
From Senator
Phil Gramm to
Senator John
Cornyn to the
entire Texas
Congressional
delegation,
my colleagues
have always
been a strong
and unique force in
Congress. Texas stands
out as the delegation
that will band togeth-
er across party lines to
fight tooth and nail for
our state. Team Texas
always has the best
interests of our beloved
state in mind, and while
some in Washington
don’t quite understand
our particular brand of
friendliness, I always
say that Team Texas’s
hearts are as big as our
mouths.
It may seem as though
nothing gets done in
Washington, DC. But
we have accomplished
so much for Texas in
the past two decades,
by sticking to the good
Texas values of common
sense, hard work and
perseverance.
With so many Texans
serving in the armed
forces, I fought hard for
our nation’s military and
their families, including
legislation that stud-
ied how overseas mili-
tary bases compared to
American ones. That
resulted in thousands of
troops coming back to
the US, where training
and rapid deployment
were superior. I also
worked to secure over
$82 billion for base con-
struction, military hous-
ing and veterans’ pro-
grams. Over the years,
I have visited our troops
in Bosnia, Iraq and
Afghanistan, and seeing
our military men and
women when they are
in harm’s way is a very
powerful reminder of
the sacrifices they make
and how indebted we are
for their service.
I brought a new medi-
cal center to the Valley
for our thousands of vet-
erans; I helped secure
research for the Gulf
War Syndrome that has
debilitated thousands
of those who served
in Desert Storm; and
I helped expand the
beautiful Waco veter-
ans’ facility to serve as
a center for treatment
of post-traumatic stress
disorder.
Working for women
and children has been
a priority, and I am
proud to have taken
Amber Alerts - origi-
nally a Texas initiative
- national. In the years
since the legislation
passed, nearly 600 chil-
dren have been returned
home. I also introduced
legislation to strengthen
anti-stalking laws
I fought for and secured
the right for Texans to
deduct state sales tax
from their federal taxes.
When married couples
were inexplicably pun-
ished by having their
joint incomes pushed
into higher tax brack-
ets, I ensured they were
treated fairly with mar-
riage penalty relief legis-
lation. And I introduced
the legislation for spous-
es who do not work out-
side the home to save for
retirement, through the
Homemaker IRA.
Texas research univer-
sities have risen from
6th to 3rd in federal
funding for science and
innovation, strengthen-
ing our state’s economy
and helping America
keep our global compet-
itive edge. I have fought
for investment in and
support for our higher
education systems, and
Texas is now a leading
destination for some of
the country’s - and the
world’s - best scientists
and researchers. And
Texas gets exponential
benefit from the long-
term funding we secured
for NASA’s future.
So while it may seem
that Washington is in a
perpetual state of grid-
lock, Texans can take
pride that their repre-
sentatives have been
fighting for them and
getting results.
It has been my great
honor to represent our
state for the past two
decades. I want to thank
the people of Texas
for this extraordinary
opportunity, and make
the solemn promise that
I will continue to work
for our state after I leave
office.
And for the last time as
a US Senator, I am proud
to say: God bless you
and God bless Texas.
Hutchison, a
Republican, is the
senior U.S. senator from
Texas.
KayRailey
Hutchison
Christmas in Santa Monica
Christmas in my home
city of Santa Monica is
different this year. It
used to be that there
were elaborate displays
depicting the birth of
Jesus in the big
public park by
the ocean. I've
always believed
that Christmas is
a major religious
holiday, and the
display reflected
that. According to
people who know
more about such
things than I do,
the large diora-
mas told the story
of Jesus' birth
according to the Gospels
of Luke and Matthew.
That is precisely what
non-Christian groups
objected to. So the Santa
Monica city council
responded, initially, by
saying there would be
a lottery for who got to
showcase their faith —
or lack thereof — in the
park. I didn't pay much
attention to the displays
last year, but apparent-
ly they were enough to
convince the city council
to give up on the lottery
and instead adopt a rule
that there would be no
religious — or anti-reli-
gious — displays in the
public park.
And, of course, that led
to a lawsuit, which the city
won. There may or may
not be something uncon-
stitutional about a reli-
gious display in a public
park, but as a professor
of First Amendment law,
it's hard to see the case
that it's unconstitutional
not to have a display. The
court agreed, and this
year there is no display
— of the nativity scene,
anyway. There have been
plenty of public displays
of anger, many of them
directed at those terrible
atheists who are ruining
Christmas.
I decided a long time
ago that even though
I think Christmas is a
religious holiday, even
though my child-
hood is full of
memories of feel-
ing different (and
lesser) in places
where it should
not have mat-
tered (like pub-
lic school, where
the rule that the
girl with the lon-
gest hair got to
play Mary in the
school play was
abandoned my
year because — consider
the irony — it would be
wrong to have a Jewish
girl play Mary), I don't
fight about creches in
public places. It's not
worth the backlash, not
worth all the angry let-
ters about taking the
Christ out of Christmas
(I believe in doing just
the opposite).
But I can't help but
speak out about the ugli-
ness of the debate in the
city where I live. Almost
every day, I pick up a
newspaper or turn on the
radio and hear another
attack on the godless
atheists who are suppos-
edly propagating hate by
asking that public parks
not endorse any religion.
Just to be clear: It isn't
just Christians launching
the attacks. The one that
caught my eye recently in
a Los Angeles paper was
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written by a rabbi who
used it as an opportunity
to defend the country's
religious roots against
the God-forsaken athe-
ists.
The First Amendment
includes two key clauses.
One protects the right of
every American to the
"free exercise" of his or
her religion. The other
prohibits a government
"establishment" of reli-
gion. Together they
reflect a philosophy that
has served us well over
the past two centuries:
that the best protection
for religion and religious
people is to give the indi-
vidual both the power
and freedom to practice
as they choose, and to
give the government nei-
ther. The idea that not
having a religious display
in a public park threat-
ens religion is, to me,
ludicrous. Christianity is
strong enough in Santa
Monica to survive the
threat of a handful of
atheists. There are many,
many private places —
shopping malls a block
away, churchyards, front
yards and the rest —
where the birth of Jesus
is celebrated.
As I write this, Jews are
celebrating Hanukkah.
The way I learned
my Jewish history,
Hanukkah is actually a
pretty minor holiday and
would be treated that
way if it fell in any month
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other than December.
But in an effort to see
that their children don't
feel left out, many Jews
treat Hanukkah with
more attention than the
"big" holidays that fall in
months like September
and October. That's their
choice — another aspect
of religious freedom —
although I have to point
out that there really is no
such thing as a Hanukkah
bush.
But I don't need to see
a menorah tn a public
park to remember that
I'm Jewish. And it's hard
for me to see the hard-
ship suffered by those
who have to look else-
where for a creche — or
simply put one up in
their own front yard.
To find out more
about Susan Estrich and
read features by other
Creators Syndicate writ-
ers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate
website at www. cre-
ators.com.
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in fact that have been print-
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after the error has been
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 298, Ed. 1 Monday, December 31, 2012, newspaper, December 31, 2012; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth851065/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.