Always remember the sanctity of life

Last Sunday was Sanctity of Life Sunday. It coincides with the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling which legalized abortion.
Those who make and enforce our laws have made a lot of mistakes since this country was founded, but none have been bigger and more deadly than this one. To me, it’s not a question of individual freedom of choice, but one of state-sanctioned murder.
Abortion is the taking of another human life. This life happens to be in the womb and the one making the ultimate decision to kill it is the one person the baby is fully dependent on for its life – its mother. The deed is carried out by someone who swore an oath to save lives, not take them.
Those who advocate for pro-choice seem to forget that the one whose life is in the balance isn’t the one who gets to make the choice. Those who argue that a woman should have the right to control her own body need to be reminded that after conception there is more than one body to control. The “control” needs to take place before conception.
Abortion should not be another form of birth control. Abortion is a willful act of murder done for the selfish convenience of the mother. I highly doubt that women who get abortions stop to think about how death might inconvenience their baby. I doubt they think about the choice the baby would make if given a chance.
I know there are those who would raise the issue of rape or incest where the mother did not have a choice in the matter. That is a tough one, but I submit my argument still stands. The baby shouldn’t have to forfeit its life just because its conception was a crime. If the mother doesn’t want the child, adoption is a viable alternative. Abortion should not be looked at as an option. As they say, two wrongs (rape and murder) don’t make a right.
I don’t know the current statistics, but I do know that the vast majority of abortions done in this country are done for the convenience of the mother. A very small fraction is related to rape/incest or to save the live of the mother. The vast majority of abortions are murders committed with forethought and little or no regard to the helpless and defenseless victim.
It pains me to think of the abortion “super center” currently under construction in Houston by Planned Parenthood. Texas already leads the nation in executions. I guess now it will lead the nation in abortions. Could there possibly be another state with less respect for life?
I do believe and support efforts to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I fully believe abstinence outside of marriage is the best way to do that. I’m not naïve enough to think that abstinence-only education is 100 percent effective. We live in a sex-charged society. Even those who fully believe in abstinence are not immune to temptation.
In those cases where abstinence fails, other means of protection need to be readily available. I say that because promiscuity is bad enough. Promiscuity coupled with murder is complete moral failure. It is the ultimate in selfishness.
I know there are those out there who would scoff at me. There are those who are steadfastly pro-choice and do not want me to impose my morals on them. That’s fine; I understand that. But let me ask this: Is it fair to impose your “values” or “morals” on an unborn child if it means taking its life? Do the rights of the mother supersede the right to life? I think not.
It baffles my mind to think that there are those who feel the quality of their life is more important than the quantity (and quality) of the life of their unborn child. None of us can predict the future and see what life will be like down the road. Who are we to predetermine what life will be like because of an unplanned pregnancy? That child has the potential of being the greatest thing to happen to its parents. But there are those who would snuff it out before it has a chance to thrive and reach its potential. There are those who would put their own wants ahead of the needs of their own flesh and blood.
It’s sad that we need Sanctity of Life Sunday to remind us how precious and valuable every human life is. We should value the sanctity of every life every day.

Entertain this thought for now

The United States has become an entertainment-based society.
Our world revolves around our need to be continuously entertained. Think about it – how much of your waking hours are spent with at least some kind of entertainment? I bet at least 95 percent of the time you are not asleep that something is happening to entertain you. I bet a sizable portion of your income goes into entertainment – much more than you are consciously aware of.
As you read this column, stop and listen. Is there a radio playing in the background? Maybe you have the earbuds to an MP3 player stuck in your ear. Perhaps the television set is on. Is your cell phone ringing or playing music? Is there a video game on somewhere nearby? Or maybe you’re reading this online from your computer or some portable device.
If you’re like me, the first thing you hear in the morning is not the annoying buzz of an alarm, but music from the radio that the alarm turns on. I’m not even out of bed and I’m being entertained awake. While I’m in the bathroom shaving and brushing my teeth, I listen to the radio.
When we wake the kids for school in the morning we flip on the lights and turn on the radio. My teenager will invariably emerge from his room with earbuds firmly in place. In many homes – not mine – the television is on with kids watching morning programs while they eat their breakfast cereal or else it’s tuned into a morning news program. The TV might even be competing with the stereo in the same room.
As part of my morning routine, I will fire up my computer, check my e-mail and visit Facebook to see what’s going on in the lives of my friends and family. On occasion, I will have a text message on my cell phone.
When we get in the car, at the very least the radio is on. Many cars now have DVD players so the passengers can watch movies and/or listen to music. And how many folks have a GPS device? I submit to you that – helpful as they may be – they are there for entertainment.
When I get in the car, I almost never listen to the radio unless I have passengers. When I’m alone, which is most of the time, I listen to books on CD. I listen to them for entertainment. Very few of the books would classify as educational material.
When the kids get to school, how much of their learning comes from computers or other audio/visual media? Most classrooms today are equipped with a television set.
At the office, chances are there is some kind of background music playing or else you have music streaming from your computer or iPod. At work, how many of us spend time visiting Websites that have nothing to do with work? When you have conversations with your co-workers, how much of your chit-chat has to do with last night’s television programs or a hot, new movie in the theaters?
Could you even start a conversation that didn’t involve TV, movies, music or sports?
When I get home in the evening, most of the time the TV is on – normally to the Cartoon Network – and the kids are watching it while playing with their Gameboys. In the kitchen, my wife will be preparing dinner with her laptop nearby playing music or with some news or weather site pulled up on the screen. I will go back, fire up my computer and go right back at it with e-mail and Facebook. Almost every day will end with us sitting on the couch watching a program or a movie on DVD.
Whenever we go out to eat, most of the time my kids want McDonalds. They get toys with their meals and there is usually a play area for them to goof off in. All of it is entertainment. Even the luxury of dining out is for our pleasure. It’s certainly not a necessity.
If you look at the highest-paying careers in this country, they’re all entertainers. Actors, singers and athletes make more money than the farmers, factory workers and teachers who actually do something of value for a living. This country’s most profitable export is entertainment. The most common foreign imports include means for enjoying entertainment (TVs, computers, game consoles, etc.).
Even our attire – T-shirts in particular – are geared toward entertainment. Most of what we read in books and magazines is for entertainment. If you go to church, chances are that part of the service will involve some form of multimedia entertainment. If you go on vacation, you will most likely go to a theme park or someplace where you are entertained.
As I look around my office, I have pictures and paraphernalia from sports teams and movies. When I look at my finances, a much bigger chunk of my paycheck goes to pay for computers, phones, movies and cable TV than ever before.
It makes me wonder just how healthy this constant bombardment of entertainment is for us. And what are we being entertained with? What messages are we constantly receiving? It’s pretty frightening sometimes to stop and think about who has control of our minds and what they are doing with that control.
What scares me even more is there is little, if anything, that we can – or want – to do to take back control of our lives.

Race card creates ethical dilemma

I’m facing a bit of an ethical dilemma.
There is a story I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks. I don’t know what to do with it, so I thought I’d address it here in my column. It has to do with an accusation of racism.
Before I get into the details, let me make it clear where I come from on this. I grew up in a time and place where the population was more than 90 percent white. I was never exposed to issues of racism until I got into college. One of my best friends at Adams State College is black. I had the misfortune of seeing how certain others treated him.
When I moved to North Carolina for seven years in the ’80s and ’90s, I got exposed to a great deal of racism from both sides. It made me sick because it was so unnecessary. There were people – black and white – who filtered everything through a prism of race. There were people itching for the race card to be played just so they could fire back.
Everything we did on the newspaper had to be looked at from the perspective of how the black community would react to it. I was always uncomfortable with that. I believe in treating each person as an individual, not as a member of any race or ethnic group.
Upon my return to Colorado and my later move to Amarillo, I had to learn to deal with race from a Hispanic perspective. That was a little easier for me, as I am part Spanish and can technically claim to be part Hispanic. My Swedish, Irish and German blood overshadows that, but I am part Spanish nonetheless.
Now here I am, deep in the heart of Texas, and once again walking on eggshells around issues of race. This is where I’m torn. I don’t want to help anyone voice accusations of racism if it isn’t true. On the other hand, I don’t want to silence that voice if there is any truth to it. I know that race relations are better than they were, but that racism is still strong in this country.
This is what happened. Cedric McLaughlin came to me with a claim that he had been fired from his job as a Waller police officer because of his race. McLaughlin, 38, is black. His new boss, Chief Phil Rehak, is white. McLaughlin was the only black person on the force.
I had already arranged to do a story about Rehak as the new chief when McLaughlin contacted me. I did not want my introduction to Rehak to be one of confrontation. At the same time I don’t want to turn a blind eye to what may well be a legitimate story.
I went ahead and did the introduction story on Rehak and held off on McLaughlin’s accusations. I eventually interviewed Rehak and other city officials about McLaughlin’s situation.
From what I’ve been able to piece together, this is what happened. McLaughlin has been a police officer for eight years, the last three in Waller. He was hired by former Chief James Fulton. Fulton apparently liked the job McLaughlin did. He gave him good performance evaluations and when Fulton retired, he gave a glowing letter of recommendation to McLaughlin.
Enter Rehak. On his first couple days on the job he interviewed each of his officers, evaluated their skills and performance, and restructured the department. In doing so, he promoted two people over McLaughlin, one of whom was a part-timer that McLaughlin had trained.
“He (Rehak) told me it wasn’t my business how he made the decision. I feel the reason he did was because of my race,” McLaughlin said.
Rehak told me that race was not a factor at all.
“This has nothing to do with any disciplinary issue and nothing to do with race,” Rehak said.
He said he assessed the needs of the department and moved people into positions where he felt they and the department would be most successful. McLaughlin disagreed with the changes and expressed his opinion to Rehak.
The next day a meeting was called between McLaughlin, Rehak, Mayor Paul Wood and City Secretary Jo Ann London. At the conclusion of the meeting, McLaughlin’s employment was terminated. He had to turn in his badge.
I can’t say for certain what happened in the meeting. Most of what I’ve been told about it was confided to me off the record.
When you look at things from McLaughlin’s perspective, he appears to have a legitimate case. He was the only black person in the department. Men that he trained and who had lesser qualifications (at least according to McLaughlin) were promoted over him. His termination – by Rehak’s own admission – had nothing to do with discipline. It had more to do with McLaughlin’s attitude and dissatisfaction with the restructuring of the department.
Was McLaughlin’s de facto demotion and firing racially motivated? It looks like it on paper, but I doubt it. Attitude is everything and even in his meeting with me McLaughlin’s mood was not the best. But I couldn’t blame him. My attitude wouldn’t have been much better had I been through what he had.
On the other hand, if your attitude gets in the way of your ability to do your job adequately, then there is just cause for your termination. I know that from first-hand experience.
Rehak said he doesn’t have any ill will toward McLaughlin and wishes him well. He hates that the race card has been played. I hate it too. I certainly don’t want to contribute to racism by not reporting the story, but nor do I want to contribute to it by spreading word of it where it doesn’t exist.
So there you have it. Those are the facts as I know them. Is it a legitimate story? Was McLaughlin’s termination racially motivated? Am I right to hold the story or should it have been splashed across the front page?
I guess in writing this column I have alleviated my ethical dilemma. The story is here in print for all the world to see. But I don’t feel any better having written this. I like Rehak and I think he’s going to do great things with the Waller Police Department. At the same time, I hurt for McLaughlin. Other than having an understandably bad attitude, he didn’t do anything wrong.
I guess the moral of the story is that our attitude is everything. How we act and react to people and situations says a lot about who we are and our ability to cope and get along. It’s my sincere hope that everyone involved in this situation can learn from the experience, grow through it and come out better on the other side.

Trekkin' boldly into 2010 and beyond

Editor’s log, stardate supplemental. The News Citizen has arrived in the second decade of the 21st century. The holidays are over and a new year and new decade are upon us.
The economic downturn that has been attacking us relentlessly continues, though it is showing signs of letting up. Despite the hits we have been taking, my crew and the ship continue to hold up remarkably well.
Advertisers are rediscovering the value of our product and appreciate the quality and service they receive from us. And readership continues to grow despite the industry trends to the contrary.
The News Citizen is now in its 120th year of business. That is roughly a century longer than our competitors and clearly demonstrates our leadership as the premier local news provider for Waller County. From the start, residents have turned to us as their best source of local news and advertisements and we remain dedicated to this cause.
While our competitors continue to cut prices and give away their papers, we feel this reflects the quality of their products and caution people to act accordingly. As my Vulcan science officer so often reminds me, “Logically, you get what you pay for.”
I have now completed a year of service and dedication to this community and remain steadfastly determined to drive our coverage in the coming year into warp speed. Having seen how things work here and being able to better determine what is important to people, I am in a much better position to direct and accelerate news, feature and sports coverage.
We have come a long way in the last year and I don’t ever want to let up on our improvements to the paper. We will strive to get better and provide even more value for readers and advertisers. I want this paper to become something that local folk can’t be without. It needs to be something they anticipate each Thursday and rush out to get at the post office or local retailer.
Doing that isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to require more effort and harder work on my behalf. It’s going to mean generating more stories and relying less on the same submitted items that our competitors run. That’s not to say it’s less important news. Let’s just say we can do better, and we will.
This newspaper and the industry in general have taken a beating in the last couple of years. But we’re still standing and very much in the game. I think we are just as relevant and important to readers as ever before.
No one gave better coverage of the political scandals, Hempstead and Waller County governments, and local festivals and celebrations last year than the News Citizen. Now that I’ve gone once around the block, I know how to ramp up what we do to provide all the local information readers want and need to know.
It’s been said that newspapers in the 21 century are obsolete and irrelevant. I disagree. Some of history’s best success stories rise from times of deepest doubt and despair. This is the darkest time the news industry has ever seen and it’s time for us to shine like it’s our finest hour. Our glory days aren’t behind us, they’re right here, right now.
Instead of getting cynical about the downward spiral of the industry, it’s time to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps (and any other applicable cliché) and get ’r done. This paper ain’t goin’ down without a fight – not on my watch. I plan to come out in 2010 firing all phasers and proton torpedoes.
It won’t be perfect and it may not be pretty, but I’m going to give it my best with everything I’ve got to work with. When people think of the Waller County News Citizen, I want them to think of community. I want the readers to have a real sense of ownership of the paper. I want them to interact and participate as much as possible.
I encourage people to drop a line and let me know what they want to see more (or less) of in the paper. My e-mail address is jsouthern@hcnonline.com. My phone number is 979-826-3361.
Editor out. Set course for success. Ahead warp factor one. Lock phasers. Engage!