Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/357128
Themostrecentissueofthe Smithsonian Magazine con- tains an insightful article by Paul Theroux, a noted travel writer who has received many awards; Theroux writes about the deep the South; he inter- views people, comments on the abandoned buildings and blighted landscapes, the his- tory of the area, and the need for hope. The South he visited needs hope, but on a small scale there are individuals work- ing with available resources to bring hope into many peo- ple's lives. As does PATH in Tehama County. He points out the bitterness, particularly by white men whom, he says, are still suffering from the results of the Civil War; their bitter- ness may well parallel that of those who proclaim the State of Jefferson will end all of our woes. Theroux concludes, "Many Southerners I met asserted— with grim pride or with sor- row, or misquoting Faulkner— that the South doesn't change. That's not true. In many places, the cit- ies most of all, the South has turned upside-down; in the rural areas change has come very slowly, in small but defi- nite ways. The poet William Blake wrote, 'He who would do good to another must do it in Min- ute Particulars", and the Delta farmers I visited...were the embodiment of that valiant spirit." Theroux's message and the passage from Blake apply to us as well. We can make some strides in incremental steps to make a difference in our town and county. I mentioned PATH earlier, but there are other or- ganizations that are making efforts as well. We need to explore alter- natives to name calling, fin- ger pointing and temper tan- trums. In my perfect Tehama County, for example we would do away with all the duplica- tive governmental expense by combining services and inte- grating structure. I wonder: Why should we need two police departments and a sheriff's department for 60,000 plus people? Why do we need an ineffec- tual City Council in Red Bluff that can't even support the Chamber of Commerce or de- cide if they should be deciding about matters before them? Couldn't the governmental structure be unified with one governing body with effective representation from all areas of the county? With modern communica- tions and good leadership that body could reduce the number of elected officials, focus on effective governance, and do away with the pettiness and dull decision making taking place now. Speaking of pettiness, why do we allow one judge to ban local retired judges from serv- ing in our counties? This adds expenses to our already stretched judiciary budget. Judges are elected by us and should be held accountable. We need to do our job. Is there something we can do, either regionally or state- wide to counter the impact of the Reynolds v. Sims decision? By my count there are 31 coun- ties in California with a popu- lation under 200,000. Each of those counties was deprived of "unequal" representation un- der Reynolds v. Sims. It seems to me that the con- cept of checks and balances, embodied in the US Constitu- tion, with two senators from each state would have some bearing on the "one man one vote" doctrine espoused by the Supreme Court. Just as the United States has softened the possibil- ity of the tyranny of the ma- jority in its Constitution, the states should have that option as well. It would seem to me that the current relatively conser- vative Supreme Court would agree with this line of reason- ing. We are suffering from a tyranny of the majority, some- thing abhorrent to our Found- ing Fathers. Mope and moan is not working; our governance structure is weak and un- imaginative; we need to gar- ner our resources and work to- ward solutions, little ones here and there, and ultimately big- ger ones. I realize we have a lot to accomplish, that we have le- gitimate complaints about many things, and that the road ahead is not "the Yel- low Brick Road", but I do be- lieve the resilience of the peo- ple of Tehama County and Red Bluff can and will make a dif- ference if we put aside our Gloomy Gus point of view and get busy. There is a June Carter Cash song that contains these lyrics: Well there's a dark and a troubled side of life. There's a bright and a sunny side too. But if you meet with the darkness and strife, The sunny side we also may view. Keep on the sunny side, al- ways on the sunny side, Keep on the sunny side of life. It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way, If we keep on the sunny side of life. There is plenty to be gloomy about if we want to be a Gloomy Gus. I do believe that our attitude is something we can control. It is one thing to be gloomy, another to see the truth about you and re- spond accordingly. In my recent stint as in- terim superintendent I found myself dealing with profes- sional adults who were pro- claiming paranoia, outrage, and anger; I told them that they had control over their own attitudes and until they assumed that responsibil- ity there were no solutions to the problems they alleged. Feeling good is not the so- lution to our problems, but believing we can work to- gether and make a differ- ence here and now will bring progress, one little step at a time. This relatively poor com- munity has demonstrated it generosity time and again; it has come together frequently when it felt the need. We can do that now. The wistful desire to return to the good old days, the pro- pensity to point fingers, and the ease of labeling others only get in the way of prog- ress. I refuse to be a Gloomy Gus. Please join me in that pledge. JoeHarropisaretirededuca- tor with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHar- rop@sbcglobal.net. JoeHarrop HappyHooligans or Gloomy Guses, part 2 Cartoonist's take Despite what politicians say, the border crisis is not an im- migration problem or a border security problem. We've got all those problems, but this ain't that. These kids—these tired, poor, huddled masses—are not economic migrants. They— these homeless, tempest tossed to us—are seeking refuge from violent gangs and corrupt cops in Central America. If we deal with the problem that exists in- stead of having the fight pol- iticians want, then we can do some good. First, we can handle these children. Most of them have family in the United States, and if you think a country of 313 million can't absorb 52,000 children—if you think we can't afford to lift the lamp by the golden door—then you are as bad at America as you are at math. Instead, Barack Obama wants to send them home, and Republicans are yelling at him to speed it up. How violent are things where these children are running from? According to the UN, in 2012 El Salvador, Gua- temala, and Honduras were twice as dangerous for civil- ians as Iraq was at the height of the war. If you have to come to Texas to get away from men with guns, then you're from a very dangerous place. These kids deserve refuge. But we can't open our arms to refugees without dealing with the violence that drove them here, so our leaders are not only going to have to find their lost decency but start us- ing their brains. We could all stop using the illegal drugs that fund the gangs and corruption in Central America, but that would require Americans to act smarter. Or we could legalize the drugs and remove the profit motive, but that would require our leaders to be smarter. No, this will require us to find the rarest of solutions, the work- able one. We can do this. If we can de- mand political reforms in ex- change for security in Iraq, then we can do the same thing for a crisis in our own hemi- sphere. And if we can get Syria to destroy its chemical weap- ons and Iran to dilute its cache of highly enriched uranium—all without firing a shot—then we can probably leverage our trade agreements to find a diplomatic solution. Here's an idea: What if we used our trade agreements to help stabilize that region? El Salvador, Guatemala, and Hon- duras are parties to the Domin- ican Republic-Central Amer- ica-United States Free Trade Agreement, better known as CAFTA. That region is our 14th- largest export market in the world and the third-largest in Latin America behind Mexico and Brazil. Next year, all tariffs on U.S. exports to that region will be lifted, and that's our le- verage. For once, the interests of poor folks in Central Amer- ica and American business are aligned. This is a perfect op- portunity for the United States to show how soft power—diplo- macy, public-private partner- ships, trade, and foreign aid— can carry the day. Unfortunately, congressman Randy Weber (R-Texas) thinks cutting off foreign aid is the an- swer to the border crisis, even though his bill, the Illegal Entry Accountability Act, would prob- ably only increase northward migration. Also from the "If the pres- ident won't act, then I will" school of foreign relations is our Dear Leader, Rick Perry. The Governor's decision to send 1,000 troops to the border is a total Perry move, calibrated to win the hearts of Iowa Republi- can activists but blind to the re- ality of the problem in Texas. It's hard to see how milita- rizing the border will facili- tate a more efficient distribu- tion of Pedialyte to the border kids, but then Perry has been posing with more assault weap- ons than border children lately, and slogans such as "Love thy neighbor" or "Suffer little chil- dren, forbid them not" don't poll well among Iowa Republi- cans. He has come a long way from the guy who signed the Texas DREAM Act. Pointing guns at children and threatening our neighbors might be good politics when you're running for president, but the wretched refuse will keep showing up on our teem- ing border until we deal with the real problem. To deal with the border kids, our politicians are going to have to grow up. Jason Stanford is a regular con- tributor to the Austin Ameri- can-Statesman, a Democratic consultant and a Truman Na- tional Security Project part- ner. You can email him at stanford@oppresearch.com and follow him on Twitter @ JasStanford. Joe Stanford What to do about the border crisis Speaking of pettiness, why do we allow one judge to ban local retired judges from serving in our counties? This adds expenses to our already stretched judiciary budget. Sounding off Alookatwhatreadersaresayingincommentsonourwebsiteandonsocialmedia. Ihavesuchfondmemoriesofthisplace, I o en visited the monks with my sister when I was very young. I loved going to the services there and listing to the monks sing. Beautiful voices. Such a peaceful place to go and just reflect. Gloria Bunnell: Story on the blessing of the grapes at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina Why do they put a picture up with a cigarette like that with all the anti smoking stuff. Looks more like a cig commercial. Greta Corbin: Story on Airman Mikal Hanson, who helped defend his base against an attack Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. 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