Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 6-11-20 E-edition

Thursday, June 11, 2020 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION Vote harvesting, voter ID
and police budget cuts
There was a time when I felt the
most egregious thing any citizen
could do was to complain about how
our democracy was being run when
they hadn't even bothered to vote.
Since then, I have changed my mind
completely. We now have an increas-
ing number of ignorant (uninformed)
voters who have no concept of issues
or else they provide their ballots to
“ballot harvesters.” These are people who haven't taken the time to gain a grasp of the issues or candidates and yet are willing to place their thumbs on the scales of justice in such a cavalier manner regarding politics which impact all of us!
With absolutely no record of the chain of command of ownership, ballot harvesting has to be considered a primary opportunity for voter fraud. When politicians are excited about anything, it's a sure bet that it isn't good for the rest of us. They can use all the platitudes they wish about their proposals they wish but they care little about “voter suppression.” It seems strange to us that Democrats continue to claim voter suppression when the results of the election were clear cut with record num- bers of votes being cast. Their claim is patently irrational!
We continue to see all of these ideas being floated that “will create equal access to the ballot for the poor and underprivileged.” Truth is, all that any of their measures accomplish is to provide greater access to the process by the politicians.
With the access to the process of selecting who will literally run the country for the next two or four years, why can't we pass voter identification to insure that the people voting have truly met all the requirements to do so? We require identification for almost everything else we do in life — why not for an act as dear and im- portant as voting?
After the mindless looting burning and rioting in many of our largest Democrat-operated cities this past week, some genius has come up with the “brilliant” idea of cutting police budgets or even eliminating depart- ments all together. I truly believe that, if one were to examine the situation, all of those cities with the great- est problems are run by Democratic administrations.
Try to imagine just how bad it could have been had there been no police presence. What do you suppose life will be like when someone is busy kicking in your door at two in the morning and you have no one to call?
Not to worry though, at the rate we're proceeding with the release of convicts and no bail for crimes we will have no criminals. They will all be roaming our streets day and night with no one to impede their thuggery.
Sadly, the entire situation is being exacerbated by certain members of an elitist media who, instead of sim- ply reporting factually what is happening, have opted to openly declare their political partisanship. There was a time when real news editors of newspapers and televi- sion proudly performed their duty as gatekeepers for the information package which they have assembled.
We couldn't help but notice recently when the New York Times ran an op-ed piece authored by a United States senator and were forced to apologize and retract when their young staff of elite college graduates threw a hissy fit.
A few short years ago, the idea of such an event even being discussed with management would be virtu- ally unthinkable.
Given the prevailing mindset of today's self-serving, ideologically twisted thought patterns of the American politician coupled with an American media which is literally blind with hatred, our options are few. When there is talk of Black Lives Matter being used as part of the police replacement in Minneapolis, voters will be forced to fall back on their old friend — common sense!
SUSD superintendent pledges that district values an inclusive mindset
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Fred Hall
By Adela Jones
Guest columnist
As the superintendent of Sanger Unified, I feel it is im- portant to personally address what is going on in our nation right now. The events of this past week surrounding the death of George Floyd have caused me, as a leader, to re- flect on what our system does to encourage our youth to have a voice for change. The pro- tests and movement against racial discrimination and social inequities in our country are sparked by a pattern of oppres- sion that our African-American community has experienced over many, many years. This movement for change is some- thing that is important for our country but also our local com- munities.
I was an elementary teach- er in 1991 when Rodney King was a victim of police brutal- ity, which sparked riots. I re- member the innocence in my students’ questions in trying to understand what was hap- pening. Videos of such events back then were rare, as cell phones weren’t something ev- erybody owned, so witnessing the actual event was confusing
to them. Today, our young peo- ple see shocking videos such as George Floyd’s encounter too often. We must work to ensure there is never complacency or acceptance of this type of be- havior as normal. For many, watching these news stories and reading these posts on so- cial media can be discomfort- ing. It is this discomfort that can and should force change in our society.
Sanger Unified’s Strate- gic Plan clearly states that we value an inclusive environment and mindset. One of our goals is to provide safe schools for our children. To that point, profes- sional development regarding implicit bias and racial dispar- ity must be a part of every edu- cator’s training. I plan to work with my staff to ensure that our classrooms are places where students feel safe, their voices are heard and they are empow- ered to create the change they need for their future.
I plan to organize a Super- intendent’s Student Advisory Committee that reflects the di- versity of our schools and gives a voice to students about what we are doing well and what we must do to become better. We
all must teach
tolerance, com-
passion and
empathy to our
children. We
will strive to do
better to ensure
all students, es-
pecially our
most vulnerable, experience the sense of belonging, agency, and liberty they deserve.
If your children are asking question or are struggling with what they are seeing and hear- ing on TV and social media, please see the resource “Be- yond the Golden Rule: A Par- ent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice and Racism.”
In closing, I would like to personally assure our commu- nity that we will continue to do everything in our power to pro- vide a school environment that is safe, tolerant and inclusive.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Adela Jones is superinten- dent for the Sanger Unified School District.
Adela Jones
Letters from readers
But, as always, what's only one man's opinion.
A call for racial reconciliation
We have seen across our na- tion over the last several days eruptions of protests some- times peaceful sometimes not, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man, under the knee of a white po- lice officer. We must recognize that these protests do not come in a vacuum, but bear the deep pain of not just this last one but a string of similar inci- dents. There is a history of the deep sin of racism and ethno- centrisim in our country that persists. We admonish each of us to carefully examine our own personal hearts, for trans- formation begins there. Our children are not born preju- diced, and they need not learn it from us.
The Dinuba Christian Min-
isterial Association grieves the death of George Floyd and others and also grieves the ongoing plague of racist atti- tudes and actions in our nation. God calls through the prophet Micah for the people to “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). Jesus lived out that message and summarized all that God wants us to do into the com- mandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). In our na- tion’s history of slavery and the heritage of racism devel- oped since those times, some of our neighbors have been de- valued because of the color of their skin.
The voices crying out now for justice, for change, are a call to all of us to take seri- ously all of the ways the sin of racism is hurting our neigh-
bors, each one bearing the im- age of God. The DCMA calls on all those who profess faith in Christ to grieve the loss of life, to listen carefully to how God calls us to repent from all the ways the disease of racism has infiltrated our lives and our society, and to make real change.
We all long for and com- mit ourselves to work for the day when God’s ways of true justice will be lived out in our lives and bear the fruit of true peace, as the prophet Isaiah wrote (Isaiah 32:16-17). “Then justice will reside in the wil- derness and righteousness will dwell in the fruitful orchard. The work of righteousness is peace, and the result of righ- teousness is quietness and con- fidence forever.”
The Dinuba Christian Ministerial Association
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QUOTE
“Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.”
— Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)