Despite 2020, there is much to be thankful for

As we look back on 2020 many people will have plenty of things to gripe about. 

Closures, lockdowns, masks, cancelations, layoffs, furloughs, riots, a highly contentious election, and so much more has dominated our lives. With so much negativity, I thought it would be nice to reflect on all of the things to be thankful for. 

Traditionally when you ask people at Thanksgiving what they are thankful for, they say things like family, health, job, home, etc. This year they really mean it! Too many people are doing without some of those things thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Earlier this year we lost country music legend Charlie Daniels, but we are left with his music. One song in particular sums things up pretty well in 2020. “In America” says, “And we may have done a little bit of fightin’ amongst ourselves but you outside people best leave us alone. ’Cause we’ll all stick together, and you can take that to the bank…” 

We have proven our resilience through these trying times and have not been defeated. I believe that between the pandemic, the George Floyd protests, and the presidential election we have learned that even though we may disagree we will come together in times of difficulty and hardship. That’s something to be thankful for. 

Through the pandemic we have found new and improved ways to communicate and conduct business online. We have streamlined many operations and learned new ways of doing things. Necessity is the mother of invention and we have certainly been inventive this year. 

Although the death of George Floyd and the protests and riots that ensued were a dark chapter in our history, we have learned to finally start listening to and appreciating the perspectives of Black people and all people of color. That’s a big step toward unity and tolerance, which is a good thing. 

After everything shut down last spring, we saw sporting events from pros to preps move forward this fall and even though attendance has been limited, we still have teams to cheer for. 

The oil and gas industry may be taking a huge hit in this economy, but we have lower gasoline prices than we’ve seen in a very long time. As a long-distance commuter, I’m very thankful for that. 

In this year: 

• I have been furloughed but I have a job. 

• I have been quarantined but I have not been sick. 

• I have been separated from loved ones but I still have all of them. 

• My son learns from home but he’s still getting an education. 

• I’ve had to watch church online, but I’ve been able to view several other churches as well. 

• I’ve been forcing myself to get up early each morning to take a mile-long walk with the dog. I’ve benefitted from better health and having been able to view amazing sights in the night sky and some incredible sunrises. 

• We’ve had to wait most of the year, but we now have new episodes of “The Mandalorian” (a.k.a. “The Baby Yoda Show”). 

• My middle son finished his diesel mechanic classes at Texas State Technical College during the pandemic and he now makes more money than I do. 

• My youngest son is pushing the deadline, but he will become and Eagle Scout (and is a future Aggie!) 

And like most people, I am thankful for my family, health, job, church, and home. God has blessed us well through all of this and I trust that he will carry us through whatever remains of 2020 and into 2021. 

I hope and pray that each of you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving and many new things to be thankful for a year from now.

What does it mean to call an election?

It’s time for a few housecleaning items. 

There are some things of late that require a little attention and clarification. The first thing I want to address is the poll question we ran two weeks ago asking how people felt about the direction of our country now that the presidential election is over. Judging by nearly every comment left on our Facebook post, many people here either did not understand the question or how the elections work.

Most commenters blasted us for “calling” the election because President Donald Trump is still challenging the counts and the voting process in several key states. First of all, The Sealy News never called the election. To do so we would have had to have named a winner, which we did not. The election was over in that Election Day had passed and the polls were closed. No one can vote in the election anymore. 

Secondly, it is the tradition of the media to call an election. That has always been the case. Please understand the difference between calling an election and confirming one. The press calls an election when it is clear one of the candidates has enough votes to win. An election is confirmed after it is properly canvassed and all votes tallied. In nearly every case, the election night results closely mirror the canvassed results. There may be variation in the numbers but rarely enough to overturn anything.

No, the press does not formally or officially confirm the winner by calling a race, the government does that. As always, the press reports those results. As of press time, that process was still going on. 

Letters to the editor 

As many readers know, we have been running a lot of letters to the editor by a particular individual who has been hypercritical of city government, particularly the Sealy EDC. These letters have contained numerous factual errors and innuendo of illegal or inappropriate behavior by city employees. 

I have run these letters out of a desire to not quash anyone’s opinion or desire to speak freely. This will no longer be the case. We have published guidelines regarding letters to the editor which can be seen at the bottom of this page. If we see any factual errors or potentially libelous information, we will not publish the letter, or we may do so by either editing it or having the writer make corrections. 

I apologize to anyone who has been inconvenienced by publication of previous letters. 

Holiday precautions 

As has been the case most of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way things are being done. We are doing our best to move forward with holiday activities while at the same time being safe and trying to protect the health of everyone involved. 

The Angel Tree will go up soon and that requires people coming to our office to pick up ornaments and buying and returning gifts for seniors in local retirement homes. Please trust that we are doing our best to make sure the virus is not transmitted in any way during this process. We do ask that people coming to the office be masked. 

We will minimize handling the ornaments and gifts as much as possible and also sanitizing as best we can. 

Unfortunately there will not be a large party at Tony’s Family Restaurant for the residents of The Oaks and Silver Lake retirement communities due to pandemic restrictions. Rest assured that the seniors will get their gifts in the safest possible way. 

The same goes for the handling of the coloring pages for our annual wrapping paper. We ask that those submitting colored pictures to do their best to make sure the pictures are cleaned and sanitized before dropping them off at Austin County State Bank. Some suggestions include lightly spraying them with Lysol and/or hanging them in direct sunlight for a couple hours. If anyone handling the pictures is sick or has been exposed to anyone known to have the virus, please do not deliver the pictures in person. 

 We appreciate your attention to these matters and hope everyone has a happy, safe, and healthy Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Understand what you’re saying about the media

I recently got into a spat with a friend regarding an ugly anti-media meme shared on Facebook. 

I was about to absolutely blister this person about how ignorant it was but opted to let it drop because I valued the friendship more than the facts. I’ve since had time to calm down about it (or stew over it, depending on the perspective), but it still bothers me. 

I fully understand how and why the American people are upset with “mainstream media” and its biases. I am too, but mostly because of how it reflects on and impacts those of us who work diligently at the local level. 

Bias in media is nothing new. In the early days of newspapers it was something they boasted. It was a selling point. People subscribed to a particular paper based on its political leanings. As modern journalism evolved and other forms of media came along – radio and television – there was more of a push for balance and neutrality. That’s what I was taught in college. That’s what I’ve strived for throughout three decades in this business. It’s what nearly every colleague of mine has fought for over the years. 

Many of our older readers will recall TV newsman Walter Cronkite. He was considered unbiased, presenting the news in a straightforward manner. Yet privately he was very liberal in his politics. Most journalists are. That’s why I’ve always said the title of my memoirs will be “Behind Enemy Headlines.” I’m a conservative operating in a very liberal field.  

In the early days of my career I had to write left-leaning editorials that I disagreed with. I’ve had to write about liberal social trends that go against my beliefs. I’ve had more personal columns censored than I care to count. But when it comes to reporting the news, I do my best to keep personal bias out of my work. 

It sickens me to see such blatant bias in reporting when it comes to major media outlets such as CNN, FOX, the New York Times, and numerous others. It’s far more painful when friends paint all mass media with a single brush, casting doubt on everything we do. It’s even worse when they resort to name-calling, telling people not to believe what they are being “told” by the media, and cry “defund the media.” 

I honestly don’t think the average person in America today realizes just how dependent they are on the media and the vital role it plays in their lives. To evaluate this it first requires an understanding of what media is and what it is not. In its broadest sense, media is everything that communicates to a wide audience. It’s more than news sources, it includes, books, movies, TV shows, paintings, poetry, photography, the internet, etc. For our purposes here, we will only consider what most people call media – news outlets. 

If we did away with mainstream media you would not only lose all political information, but you would also lose all sports, lifestyles, obituaries, business reports, entertainment news and reviews, weather forecasts, local, state and national news, and so forth. There would be no investigative journalism. There would be no government watchdogs. There would be no reporting of community events. Even comics and cartoons would go away. 

To get all this information, you would have to personally attend every government meeting and every sporting event of interest, search police blotters, visit funeral homes, attend criminal trials, chase ambulances and fire trucks, talk with teachers and school administrators, contact weather experts, attend the openings of local businesses, and read every book and watch every movie and play that seems to be of interest (without the benefits of reviews or trailers because that’s what you’re doing now). 

Get the picture? This is what journalists do. We find, collate and deliver a wide variety of news and information to you so you don’t have to do it yourself. We keep you informed about a great many things. We may not do it right or we might have some bias or slant to our coverage, but in general you’re going to get straightforward facts and useful information. 

Just imagine if the only information you received about the world around you each day was delivered in the memes and so-called fake news that you find on Facebook and other social media outlets? (Hint, they’re media too, and extremely biased!) 

So, before you go bashing the mainstream media, please stop to consider exactly what you are saying and what you mean. It’s one thing to point out the failures and faults of a single source, but it’s quite another to paint us all with the same brush. In doing so you hypocritically spread the same kind of bias you’re complaining about. 

 P.S. Happy birthday to my wonderful wife, Sandy Southern!

Saluting those who serve

To those who have served, are serving, and those planning to serve in the United States Armed Forces, I salute you. 

Veterans Day is next Wednesday and for me it is always very special. No, I have never served in the military and that remains one of my regrets in life. Had I known back in high school what the honor of military service would be, I’d have done it in a heartbeat. Back in the early 1980s, however, military service wasn’t looked upon too highly. 

As a nation, we still had the very bitter taste of Vietnam in our mouths. Veterans came home all messed up to an even more messed up world. The perspective I had was that most Vietnam vets were ashamed to let people know of their service, mostly due to the way they were treated upon their return. Many struggled to cope with their new reality. The perception of veterans back then wasn’t favorable. The military was cutting back and just didn’t present itself as a place with a future. 

I grew up with the outdated mindset that military service is what guys did after school who weren’t good enough to go to college. I went to college. It’s not that I was looking down my nose at those who entered the military, it’s that I was determined to do better. I now realize that I couldn’t have done any better than to have served, but that’s the advantage of hindsight. 

One of the things this nation learned post-Vietnam is to honor those who serve and protect us. That’s why you see such a push to thank our veterans. We need them to know how much they are valued and respected for their sacrifices. 

My father served in the Air Force for four years in the early 1960s, but I never saw him publicly embrace his service until more recent years when it was more socially acceptable for Vietnam-era veterans to do so. 

I watched as my brother Don went into the Navy and serve four years. It was one of the best things he ever did in life. My cousin Rich, who was a scrawny kid with a tough-guy attitude, joined the Marines and became a tough guy with a humble attitude. He proudly served 20 years, including stints in the Middle East. Our great-grandfather came to this county from Sweden and served briefly in the Spanish-American War. 

My brother-in-law Brandon Moore is a career Army chaplain, currently posted at the Pentagon. My youngest son, Colton, is a senior in high school and very active in the JROTC. He has been accepted to Texas A&M, where he will join the ROTC and then go on to the Air Force or Space Force. I am very proud of him! 

I have just recently been informed that my oldest son, Wesley, is looking to join the Army. I am excited about that and am anxious to see where it will take him. My wife’s side of the family is steeped in military service. 

There’s scarcely a skirmish in U.S. military history that doesn’t include someone in her family tree. That’s not so much the case for my side of the family, or so I thought. 

I’ve spent a lot of time looking up my family tree and I’ve found I’ve been drawn to grandfathers who served in wartime. Part of my genealogical motivation has been to join the Sons of the American Revolution. I have many ancestors through whom I am qualified but proving it with actual documentation is tough and time-consuming. Most of them I have to trace through a line of grandmothers. 

It turns out that I’m descended from a whole slew of Civil War veterans. They’re mostly Union, which is odd considering the roots of my tree are very Southern (no pun intended). I have not found any World War I or World War II veterans on my side, but that has more to do with the way the ages of grandfathers fell between the wars. They were too young for WWI and too old to be drafted for WWII. My wife’s side, however, makes up for that. At least my three sons will have that military heritage in their lineage. 

Sometimes I think the reason I’m so proud of those who served is because I never did. Theirs is a fraternity I can never join and a brotherhood I will never fully comprehend. I reap the rewards of their sacrifice and commitment and for that I am eternally grateful. We all should be. So again, to those who have, are, and will serve, I salute you and thank you!