The Most Important Person

As 2012 comes to a close, the newspapers, magazines and television will show the leaders and celebrities that have died during the year.  They will be the "important" people that will be "missed" as we move into 2013.

What I have discovered as each year passes is that it really determines where you are or what your situation is in determining who the most important person is.  On Friday evening, on her way to a friends wedding, my daughter's car decided not to crank as she sat at the gas pumps at Obie's Chevron in Clinton.  She called me and stated in a matter of fact way, "My starter has blown up on my car.  It won't crank".  Fortunately, her car was right next door to my office and fortunately starters don't blow up.  I went next door with jumper cables in hand.

Upon quick inspection it became apparent that the battery clamp was broken.  I looked up just in time to see David, a mechanic at Obie's as he stepped out the front door of the convenience store on his way home.  I asked David if we tried to duct tape the clamp to the battery if it would work.  He stated that it might, but that it also might catch on fire and then he said, "Pull it around to the back."

David in quick manner replaced the clamp and advised us to run by when the shop was open and pay for the clamp.   David worked on the battery clamp when he really didn't have to.  At that moment, it was obvious that David was the most important person in the area.  Had the Governor driven up with his motorcade to fuel up, for my needs, David would have still been the most important person there.

Each and every day, we meet people who are important in their own right.  Perhaps it is the cook that prepares our meal or the housekeeper that cleans our hotel room or the nurse who keeps our loved ones well.  Maybe it is the teacher that educates our children, the public works employee who helps to keep our city running smoothly or even something as basic as a good mother or father.  All just doing their jobs.  Generally, these are people of very little power but people who make a big difference and who are important.

Let the networks and the rest of the media spotlight the most known and "important" deaths of 2012, but for all of us, it is important not to look at wealth, power and prestige in determining the importance of a person.  Let's not judge importance by celebrity but by the true worth and character of a person.  Each person is important to someone or some group of people for one reason or another.  We should always celebrate these people with kindness and thanks and even a good tip.  We should do this because it is important.  In doing so, we celebrate the importance of the living rather than the dead.

An Idea On Limiting Gun Violence

After the shooting at the Connecticut elementary school, many are asking the questions, why and how and what is the solution to making sure that this never happens again.

I have listened as many of the talking heads immediately go to some sort of gun control as the solution.  I watch on Facebook as others state that when God was taken from the public schools, it opened the door for this type of thing to happen. 

We all know that a twenty year old man with a history of mental disorders, took guns that his mother purchased legally, went to the local elementary school and began firing with an automatic weapon, killing twenty-six people, twenty of them children.

Michelle Mcloughlin / Reuters

What could be done to make sure that this never happens again?  Sadly, I think very little, however the odds of it happening again could be reduced. 

One idea might be to tie the purchase of a gun directly to your health records?  Instead of simply running a criminal background check (which would have done no good in Connecticut or most mass shootings), also have the purchaser sign a medical release form to order their medical records (with a $50 fee for the records).  If the records come back and have any type of mental condition, mood disorder, anxiety, etc, then that person would not be eligible for a weapon.

What about people who simply needed an anti-depressant during a rough time in their lives?  Place a ten year waiting period from the last prescription written before they can purchase a gun.

This step would not take guns from people but would help in not arming someone whose mind is not well.  It is my opinion that this one step would help.

As for God not being in our schools, I don't buy that.  God is within each and every one of us.  When a child or teacher filled with God enters a pubic school, then God is a part of that school.  When love and compassion is shown to a student by a teacher or one of their peers, then God is there.  When anyone can attend our public schools whether rich or poor, of whatever race or gender, of whatever background or family situation or whether handicapped or able, then God lives in our schools.  When we allow people of all religions and faiths to be a part of our public schools, then God lives in our schools.

Pray for our schools and for the safety of the children in each and every one.  There is no way to make our schools 100% safe.

Mississippi's Original: The Magnolia Flag

This rainy day turns out to be Mississippi's 195th anniversary as a state.  When established back in 1817, there was no official state flag.  In fact, Mississippi didn't have a state flag until just after the date of it's secession in 1861.  Within days, the Magnolia flag was introduced.  The Magnolia flag is symbolic in that it has the Bonnie Blue flag in the top left corner.  The single star was symbolic of Mississippi removing it's star from the union.  The white field stands with a Magnolia tree in the middle.  It is a very distincitve and historic flag and is partly how Mississippi became known as the Magnolia State. 

In 1894, shortly after rewriting it's state constitution, Mississippi also changed it's state flag.  This flag change is unfortunate as this change was made at at time when whites who had been defeated in a war and suffered under reconstruction began to try and "normalize" their way of life.  It is also unfortunate because the Confederate flag which sits in the left corner of our current flag is perceived in modern society as one of ignorance and racism.  I hate that perception as I think our current flag is recognizable, attractive and historical. On top of that, my Mississippi heritage records that some of my ancestors were Confederate soldiers.

BUT, it is time to change.  That is my thought today and was my thought back in April 2001, when we voted on whether to keep our current flag or to move to another.  At that time, I voted for our current flag because it was historical in nature and the other flag was... well, it was something that was just made up and really had no historical signifigance.

Our state is approximately 37% African American.  Of that 37%, probably a large majority would be in favor of changing the flag that some find offensive.  Of the remaining 63% of Mississippi's population, I think if given the chance to chose a flag that was historical in nature with a link to the Confederacy (as is the Magnolia Flag),  I think they would have no problem with changing our state flag to the Magnolia Flag.

Repbulicans now hold the Governor and Lt. Governor's office as well as the majority in the House and Sentate.  They need to step forward with the proposal to make this change.  From an economic development and public relations standpoint, it has to be better than the flag we have.  Also, from a political standpoint, while it will probably not change much in getting minority votes for the Republicans, it just seems like the right thing to do.

It is time for a banner that represents all Mississippians.  It is time to change back to the Magnolia Flag.

Hannah Rachel

Well, it is one week away.  On Saturday, December 15th, Hannah Rachel Cardin (HR) will walk down the aisle at Galloway Memorial Methodist Church.  It is not that many steps from the back door of the sanctuary to the front but it has been a journey that has taken 23 years to get to this occasion.  Her father, Tommie, will escort her and take his place between she and her future husband, Conner Smith before speaking the one line that a father is given in a wedding,  "Her mother and I do".

Emily and Hannah Rachel

Hannah Rachel is a dear friend of the Nations family and has been my daughters best friend since sixth grade.  I have watched as Hannah Rachel has grown from an adolescent and into a beautiful young woman.

Somewhere around my daughter, Emily's sixth grade year, she and Hannah Rachel Cardin (HR) became friends.  Best friends.  Both of them could be classified as nerds and oddly enough, that was part of what made their friendship.  Always competitive, they challenged one another in who had the highest grades in one subject or another or who could become President of a certain club or organization.  Emily, more the athlete and loud, Hannah Rachel, more the refined, girls choir type, they have both kept up with one another and supported each other through thick and thin.

Upon graduating from Clinton HS, both girls made their way to Mississippi State with both of them pledging the Chi Omega Sorority.  For their final two years of college, Emily and HR lived under the same roof at the Chi-O sorority house.  Not only were they Chi-O pledge sisters, they were sisters of a deeper kind.

This past June, Emily married Michael Bufkin.  Of course, Hannah Rachel was there.  She was Emily's Maid of Honor.  She executed her duties flawlessly and was just what Emily needed during that hectic and nerve racking time.  On Emily's wedding day (6/2), the countdown had begun and HR stood only six months and two weeks from her own wedding.

Hannah Rachel continues on with her education, attending graduate school at MSU, while her soon to be husband, Conner, attends veterinary school.  As Emily continues her own education, going to medical school, HR has mailed Emily a card of encouragement each and every week.  Now that's a friend.

I can remember many New Year's Eves with HR.  We would always get an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  HR is a sucker for ice cream cakes.  We would wait for the clock to strike midnight before breaking out our Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice and toasting in the New Year.  Such good memories.

As we approach wedding day, my only advice to Conner is simply this: Take care of Hannah Rachel.  You are getting a really good girl and a wonderful young woman.

Last To Secede From U.S.: The Conch Republic

After the presidential election, there have been a number of petitions signed asking for different states to be given permission to peacefully secede from the United States.  So far, Texas and Louisiana have the most signatures of any states.  A couple of weeks ago, Mississippi has just over 18,000 of the 25,000 signatures needed to be reviewed by the President.

This past June, I had the pleasure of visiting Key West, FL, the last place to secede from the United States.  As I stepped off the airplane and on to the runway, I looked at the big block lettering near the top of the exterior airport wall, "Welcome to the Conch Republic".

Of course everyone is familiar with the Confederate States of America and their secession from the United States but many are not familiar with the Key West secession.  The following is a brief description of the Key West secession from a blog by Rob Lammie titled, 8 Secessionist Movements in the American History:  I

In the early-1980s, the U.S. Border Patrol set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the Florida Keys in an effort to stop illegal drugs and immigrants. The time to check everyone’s identification at the checkpoint resulted in a 20-mile traffic jam that turned tourists away, thus damaging the economy in the Keys. After numerous legal attempts to have the checkpoint removed, on April 23, 1982, Key West mayor Dennis Wardlow declared the Florida Keys were seceding from the Union.

Moments later, now-Prime Minister Wardlow symbolically declared war on the U.S. by breaking a stale piece of Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a U.S. Navy uniform. One minute later, Wardlow turned to the Admiral in charge of the U.S. Naval Base at Key West and surrendered, thus ending the Conch Republic’s Civil Rebellion. He then immediately asked for $1 billion in federal aid to help rebuild his war-torn nation’s economy. While officially the Republic only existed for one minute, the tongue-in-cheek spirit of the rebellion lives on. Today you can buy Conch Republic citizen and diplomatic passports (both of which have been used for international travel, though they are not intended to be official documents) and even an official flag of the republic. 

The secession was successful and the Border Patrol ceased having checkpoints on Highway 1.  As the Conch Republic motto's states, "We seceded where others failed". 

The Only Certain Thing

Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close and hopefully we have all had an opportunity to gather around a table at Thanksgiving with family and friends where we have given thanks for the blessings that God has granted us.

For many folks down in our neck of the woods, part of what we count our blessings on fall inro three different categories:  God, politics and college football.  For some, this has been a rough month.

For instance, if you are a Republican and Romney voter, then politically, this was a bad month.  If you are a Mississippi State fan and just watched Ole Miss demolish the Bulldogs in football, this was a bad thing also.   If a person fits in both categories,  then they are in need of prayer to get them out of the depression that has either set in or is about to set in.  Soon, these doubly slammed people will have to read and hear about what bowl game Ole Miss will be attending and then about the second Obama inauguration.  This one, two punch that November has dealt will not go away soon.

I suppose the only certain thing that these people have to count on is God, their faith, their religious beliefs and the goodness of a good healthy church family (even if part of that church family pulled for Ole Miss and voted for Obama).

Today is Christ the King Sunday.  My pastor at Northside Baptist Church, Stan Wilson, preached on how Christ should have dominion over all places and over everything.  He told of a sign he saw in Picayune, MS yesterday that said, "JESUS IS LORD OVER PICAYUNE".  He told of how we should make our best effort to be obedient, to make sure that Jesus is over everything and in everything that we do.

What will be interesting over the next few weeks as we gather again with family and friends at Christmas, will we discuss with one another ways to help those who are without?  Will we talk about helping the widows and the orphans?  Will we help at a local soup kitchen, give a dollar or two to the Salvation Army, take canned goods to our local food pantry?  Will we volunteer to help tutor a student?  Will we discuss how we can promote the Kingdom of Christ in our own community and make Jesus Lord over all that is around us?

I can answer that.  Probably not.  What we most likely will discuss is how in the world Obama got elected again and how stupid some of his policies are.  And while talking about stupidity, who called the plays for Dan Mullen against Ole Miss?  If I know us like I think I know us, that is probably what we will concern ourselves with, down here in the Bible Belt, in the land of religion and politics and college football.

An Independents Advice to the Republicans

Just over two weeks ago, I sat down to watch the presidential election results.  I felt that with the poor economy, high grocery prices, high gasoline prices, increases in health insurance premiums and unemployment at a very high level, that Mitt Romney had a fairly decent chance of unseating President Obama.

First, and some may disagree, but I felt that Mitt Romney was a good candidate for the Republicans.  In fact, he was a much better candidate than John McCain four years ago.  His campaign was well run, his fund raising ability proved to be excellent and he did well in the debates.  

So why didn't he win?  

As an Independent, I would like to give my opinion on what I think are problems that the Republicans must overcome in order to win a national election.  First, from a demographic standpoint, the R's better become a bit more friendly to minority groups, especially Hispanics.  America is not getting any whiter and if a political party wants to stay in power, then they must make an overt play towards issues that might make them more appealing to those minorities.

Second, conservative social issues are killing the Republican Party.  The following are issues that very possibly may have turned off some Independents and destroyed Romney's chances of winning:

ABORTION:  While R's might oppose abortion, abortion will never be outlawed in the United States.   It is the law of the land and no President can overturn that law.  Even some who are against abortion have differing stances.  Some say that there should be no abortion under any circumstances.  Others, like Mitt Romney, say that in cases of incest, rape or health of the mother, that abortion should be allowed.  Each individual will have a different opinion on this issue.  In fact, perhaps the only people who should be able to make policy on this issue should be women... not men.  If an individual wishes to work towards discouraging others from getting abortions then that should be their right and their cause.  

IMMIGRATION:  There are millions of Hispanic workers within our borders.  Many of them serve a valuable service to our economy and for our citizens.  It would be stupid to think that the U.S. government will be able to herd up all of these Hispanic workers and their families and march them across the border into Mexico.  It is simply not going to happen and since it appears that the R's will never get over 15% of the black vote at most, for the survival of the Republicans on a national level, their must be a friendly compromise policy for all involved in this issue.  

GAY RIGHTS:  While many Republicans seem to have some problems with this issue on some level, I think that most Independent voters would have no problem with civil unions between gay couples.  If such couples are already living with one another and share a relationship and perhaps property ownership, then they probably should share financial benefits that other couples share.  In fact, I think that President Obama would have been much more productive had he supported civil unions instead of gay marriage.  I mean, what does the President's support of gay marriage really do?  The support of the President for legislation for civil unions as national legislation would have done so much more for gay couples.

RAPE:  While this is not an issue, it certainly tripped up two Republican candidates and did nothing positive for the Republicans nationally.  Once again, much like abortion, leave this topic as one that women are more qualified to speak on.  No man should answer a question on rape.

EVOLUTION:  From my personal standpoint, I believe in God and have no problem with the theory of evolution.  About twenty years ago, I sat in a Sunday School class with Dr. F.D. Hewitt, a seventy something year old man who had been a Chaplain in the U.S. Navy.  Reading from the book of Genesis as it describes the creation of the earth and man, our teacher asked how everything could have happened/evolved so quickly over a period of seven days.  Dr. Hewitt commented that when we put a Timex on God's wrist and try to make one of God's days a simple twenty four hours, then we have made a very small God.  I agree with Dr. Hewitt.

I would describe myself as an Independent who gave up on the Republicans and Democrats years ago, feeling that both had simply become self-serving.  All of the above is very much my personal opinion.  I feel that If the Republicans cannot transform themselves to be more attractive to minorities, young people and Independents, then I do not know what their long term future as a national party will be.  Once again, this is only my opinion.