Archives for August 2014

As you all may well know, a monument suddenly appeared in front of the Donley County Courthouse Annex a couple of weeks ago. Most folks knew it was coming, so it’s not a great surprise. On it, many statements were attributed to several Founding Fathers, along with others, including the Ten Commandments. Anyway, with all the engraving that was done on the monument I wonder if it is, in effect, a graven image? Just kidding – well, sort of.

Even though the monument is a weighty thing, I wonder what the point of it is. What is its purpose? What are the people behind the monument trying to say? For example, the monument includes statements attributed to George Washington, James Madison, John Jay, and alas, Patrick Henry, among others. Why, “alas” Patrick Henry? Because the monument uses a bogus quote attributed to Patrick Henry, in a 1956 magazine article. The quote is as follows, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!”

Several respectable sources dispute that Patrick Henry actually wrote or said this. Unfortunately, according to the Huffington Post, “the quotation still appears regularly in Facebook and Twitter posts, and, remarkably, in presidential aspirant Newt Gingrich’s 2011 book, A Nation Like No Other (p. 76). And this from the only candidate with a history Ph.D.!”

“It is what it is, a totally inaccurate statement,” according to my publisher Roger Estlack. It is puzzling as to why the quotes on the monument were not properly vetted. Actually, it is highly embarrassing that a false quote is now forever memorialized in front of the Courthouse Annex. We may have a possible $20,000 “oops” setting in our front yard.

There is also a misspelling or misuse of a word included in the history of Clarendon at the back of the monument. The history reads, “…purchased large tracks of land…” Actually, it should read, “…purchased large tracts of land…” Of course, they could have been referring to dinosaur, train, or animal tracks that can be found in the neighborhood. The monument also mistakenly uses the word “purposed” instead of “proposed.”

Finally, I get the feeling that the people who placed this monument may have intended it to suggest that our nation was founded on Christian values. If so, nothing could be farther from the truth. While many of the Founding Fathers were Christians, the Constitution and structure of the country were based strictly upon Enlightenment principles.

Most Americans seem to be under the erroneous idea that the Founding Fathers were pious, prayerful men. That is not the case. They were skeptical men of the Enlightenment who questioned each and every idea that they were taught. They were very well read in political philosophy and science, and were well versed in theological matters. They continually challenged the religious teachings they heard, both publicly and privately.

For example, Thomas Jefferson counseled his nephew to subject the authors of the New Testament to the same textual scrutiny he would give to other ancient historians like Tacitus or Livy, and to treat the supposed biblical miracles with suspicion. Jefferson himself edited a version of the New Testament that left out every miraculous and supernatural event, leaving only Jesus’ moral teachings.

George Washington, on the other hand, rewrote the presidential addresses crafted for him by his speechwriters so as to omit all references to Jesus Christ. And James Madison, who was quoted on the monument, gave his opinion that, “Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded subject.”

The era of the Founding Fathers was not an age of faith but an age of science and skepticism, and the Founding Fathers were in the lead. The American Revolution, and the subsequent founding of the United States of America, embodied the Enlightenment values that had been formulated over the previous hundred years or so. Our American experiment was originally an Enlightenment experiment.

I think the monument would be better placed in front of a church or even on private property. It has no place in front of our magnificent courthouse, a true monument to local government, and a temple of justice. I agree with Jefferson and the Founding Fathers that there must always be a wall separating church and state. The mystery monument is located in the wrong place, for the wrong reasons.

This is in response to the Editor’s Commentary a couple of weeks ago in The Clarendon Enterprise regarding school days and how they have changed. I would like to acknowledge that the editor is right and things have changed, some for the better, some for the worse. Our world is not the same. Our school and the newspaper is not the same as they were in 70s either, and I doubt either one wants to go back to the “old ways” of business.

In my opinion, when we talk about our school or school in general as parents, grandparents, and educators, it’s our duty to accentuate the positive. I think it’s safe to say that our kids’ opinions about school, teachers, rules, the AR program, homework, etc., are formed from hearing our opinions verbalized. Just because we as adults might not agree with every detail at the school doesn’t mean we should discuss it in a manner where the kids could take it as, “Hey, my parents are upset with the school,” when it’s usually just what I call “innocent griping,” which we all do. And I’m not implying in any way that you, Roger, would ever mention that the AR program at school was “stupid” in front of your kids. I’m just saying that even when we don’t happen to verbalize that we have a problem with something, our kids pick up on our tone, body language, etc. And if anyone reading this is going to be a parent of a first grader this school year, take note: it is “not required” for your child to take a book home at night for AR. Their reading and testing are done during the school day.

No, our school is not perfect. No school is. But the positive far outweighs the negative at Clarendon CISD. I believe we have a wonderful school system, and there are great things going on at every level. I just happen to know more about what all they do in my granddaughter’s class. There is a lot of paperwork going, but the students do still have to learn to add, subtract, write, and spell, etc. And as in the 70s, I believe that the best way, still today, is by repetition and on paper. But there were so many wonderful experiences for our children last year. They put on a puppet show, cooked Green Eggs and Ham, hatched baby chicks, cared for a baby tarantula, observed various spiders in their classrooms, and made apple pies and popcorn balls all in conjunction with a classroom lesson on various subjects. The kids also presented a great Veterans Day program. Plus so much more.

Another positive at our school is technology. I think Clarendon CISD is doing a great job preparing our kids in this area. Anyone who would like to take a closer look at what our school has to offer in this area I’m sure they’d love to show it off. I think the teachers, administrators, and support staff our school has are, hands down, better than any school around and the quality of education is top notch. So before anyone complains about buying school supplies or not being provided free pre-Kindergarten, neither of which the school is required to do, go check out what kind of programs, teachers, and facilities your children do have here, and then feel free to tell anyone that will listen how good we’ve got it!

Now, if you had some great teachers at Clarendon CISD, like I did, please feel free to tell them you appreciated them, such as Sam Lowry, Jean Stavenhagen, Helen Land, Coach Jack Hall, Johnny Leathers, Bob Howell, Carrie Howell, Jeff Walker, Kay Hayes, Bobbie Thornberry, and many more.

Reneé Mott, Clarendon

A sure sign that the rapture is near is when I find some occasional common ground with Fabulous Fred. More likely is that I am losing my rather tenuous grip on sanity. In his Killer Weed commentary I found some spotty agreement which is generally cause for rethinking my position. In discussions of drugs, I paint with a broad brush by including alcohol and nicotine in the genre.

I believe it is true that casual and infrequent use of marijuana is not a significant health risk for the two people in the world that are causal and infrequent users. The problem is that none of my junkie friends ever saved anything for later and smoke all they could get their hands on as quickly as they could. So the casual user concept is moot, and there are a fair number of lung and other health issues as well as societal problems associated with chronic use. They will spend every cent they can earn, beg, borrow, or steal on the drug to the exclusion of bathing, shaving, washing clothes, rent, or dental bills, which suggests it is not an innocuous recreational drug. In truth, there are no innocuous drugs.

Prohibition should have shown us what happens when Congress creates a situation where really bad people get really rich and powerful (comments on Congress will come at a later date). I do not think that there are any easy solutions to our drug use. The current system of largely unsuccessful attempts at interdiction have created a situation where the profits of transport and delivery of drugs are so large that there are ten people fighting to take the place of every one that was caught. Only Kamikaze pilots and suicide bombers are harder to control.

I do want to suggest a simple idea for changing the status quo. Simple does not mean easy, just uncomplicated. We, as a nation, should put the problems associated with using drugs back on the user. Receiving public assistance at any level will require passing random and frequent drug tests. Not just for Mom, but for the whole family. One fails and they all fail. Hopefully a good buzz will not be worth being cold, hungry, and living under a bridge. Junkies are always getting hurt and are the trial bars’ best repeat customers. So if you get drunk, drive, and hit a tree, you can no longer blame the tree or its owner. Prove up clean and sober at the hospital or “Torts ‘R’ Us” is out of luck. Plus, ERs will no longer be forced to give free care to overloaded junkies. Too harsh? What we are doing now is not working and the floor is open for suggestions because there is a problem and it is not going to cure itself.

Richard Sheppard, DDS, Clarendon