Page 4 - Reedley Exponent 8-9-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A4 Thursday, August 9, 2018 Editorial & Opinions
Serving “The World’s Fruit Basket” since 1891
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
Difficult as it may seem to believe, August is already a week upon us and the mid-term elections of November are just around the corner!
Jon Earnest — Editor
Chris Aguirre — Sports Editor Jodie Reyna — Panorama Editor (interim) Budd Brockett — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“The most common of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.”
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)
State’s raging wildfires, heat and bad air quality put lungs to the test
James Carville, Bill Clinton’s campaign
manager back in the 1990s, famously and suc-
cinctly told all of America who would listen
that “It’s the economy, stupid.” For a man who
was so incredibly irritating, he was very ac-
curate in making that assessment of the po-
litical front. It seems that people vote their
pocketbook first and foremost. Those were,
economically, really good times. Silicon Valley was beginning to flourish, money was available seemingly everywhere and jobs seemed plentiful.
Somewhere in the middle of that decade, Congress got in- volved. They felt that everything was so good that everyone should own their own home and they were going to help make that happen. Such was the beginning of unintended consequences when those two august houses of huge egos and little common sense set the stage for the great recession of the 2000s.
Since people had been allowed to become over-leveraged in their homes, thanks to sub-prime borrowing, the numbers of fore- closures ballooned to unbelievable numbers in the early years of this century. That colossal collapse placed strain on the American economy and there was rampant failure.
Enter Barack Obama, a black academic for whom the stars had aligned. This well-spoken young man was elected president, and immediately massive programs began to flow from the federal government — generally to no avail or even a detriment. Start- up energy companies in the solar industry received government grants and immediately built palace-like headquarters and bled taxpayer grant money until they were gone!
Obama’s anemic, socialist-driven economy muddled along for eight years with record low employment numbers and unprec- edented numbers of people joining the welfare roles after exhaust- ing all efforts to find a job. We were told this was the new reality and we should get accustomed to it because no one was ever going to be able to change the situation. President Obama spent much of the early part of his term apologizing for America, asking forgive- ness from the rest of the world for perceived past wrongs.
That brings us to 2016 and a political neophyte named Donald J. Trump announcing his candidacy for President of the United States. Noonegavehimachanceofsuccess.Thismanusedterms like “draining the swamp” that is Washington and was hated by both Democrats and the power structure of the Republican Party. This man promised change in the cultural fabric of America as well as the economic structure. He believed one could grow the economy and bring back business that had fled all the regulations put in place by the prior administration.
He believed in “loosing the tiger” that is the American spirit by eliminating the draconian regulations put in place by our own government. He believed in opening up this great wealthy country to mineral exploration to rid ourself of dependency on unpredict- able foreign governments. He wanted to see that American spirit rekindled by getting families off of welfare and see that they have productive jobs in which they can regain their pride. His tax cut, which Nancy Pelosi referred to as crumbs, has been a big part of driving this rebirth.
Trump believes in America’s strength and greatness — al- though one would never know that if one only gets their “news” from much of the mainstream media, where the line between reporting and advocacy has been blurred so much as to become invisible.
With less than 100 days left, there is sufficient time to do the reading and research necessary to make an informed choice in November.
With all the obfuscation involved in modern electioneering, it’s absolutely imperative that each and every one us become a more sophisticated consumer of the garbage fed as the reasons to vote for them. Everyone running for office has good points as well as a problematic downside. It’s our job to decide if the good points outweigh the bad! Any decision which is made on emotions alone is usually bad. A good example of that would be, “this guy(or gal) has promised me more free stuff making them my choice.” The free stuff is killing us, not only in California but all across the nation.
Strangely enough — we believe it mainly is due to the liberal education system — there has been a number of candidates an- nouncing for office who present themselves as socialist Democrats of the Bernie Sanders ilk. Need we point out that socialism has never worked wherever it has been attempted? California already has advanced the idea of free healthcare for everyone, whether they are a citizen or not. On the national level these socialist Demo- crats are advocating for the abolition of an entire segment of law enforcement which enforces immigration law. They also want free healthcare for all. That comes at a price which has already been established by two separate and disparate groups as $32 trillion. That shouldn’t be all that hard to find!
Don’t fall victim to media which is so infected with the “hate Trump” virus that they find reporting of simple truths so elusive as to be out of their grasp.
Read, study and demand facts when someone advances a claim or theory. When a decision such as the one you will be facing in November is so momentous one should be damned sure their deci- sion is fact-based and not an emotional one.
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
Although, as I said, this is only my opinion, please take these facts into consideration when you are doing your research!
It’s quite possible that Aug. 6 may have been the “all-timer” when it came to smoke and haze in Fresno County and the central San Joaquin Valley.
You know it’s bad when the foot- hills are little more than 10 miles from the eastern city limits of Reedley — and you can barely see them. That’s how miserable it was on a Monday termed “unhealthful” for all age and health groups. It even was worse than that in Fresno, where there were reports of smoke literally drifting through neighborhoods in the city — all blown by winds coming from the site of the Ferguson Fire and other blazes in the northern part of the state.
It’s a sad development that Au- gust— a month that’s become the start of the school year and now is becom- ing the opening week of prep football and other high school fall sports — also is turning into a month when air alerts, canceled outdoor activities and even increased health clinic/emergen- cy room visits are becoming the new normal.
Much emphasis is made about creating “defensible space” surround- ing foothill and mountain homes and properties. It would be better if forest practices included the now-maligned logging and controlled burns in spring months before the arrival of hot sum- mer winds and low humidity. It seems like today’s state leaders’ plans are to let it grow, and let nature take its course.
For now, we hold our collective
breaths (only half-joking) and count on the air quality slowly improving. That’s unlikely to happen soon, as three massive blazes that are among the largest in California history are yet to hit 50 percent containment. That means more cases of watery eyes, coughing and wheezing as we try to survive — let alone thrive — in the summer of 2018.
•••
In last week’s update on Reedley
fire personnel assisting in the fight against the Ferguson Fire, here are a couple of updates. The fire depart- ment’s water tender that has been at the scene was staffed for 14 days by Gilbert Torres and Dylan Garrison. On July 29, there was a staff swap as John Agueda and Nelson Alvarado replaced Torres and Garrison at the scene.
Reedley crews — including the four members on Engine 531 who have returned home after 15 days on scene — have been involved with cleanup and mopping up hot spots that the Ferguson Fire had burned. As of late afternoon on Aug. 7, the blaze had burned 94,331 acres and was 43 per- cent contained.
Chief Jerry Isaak said he doesn’t expect any Reedley firefighters to be sent to the Carr Fire near Redding until the blaze is more under control. “I’m sure if we had engines and per- sonnel available, they would be at the Carr Fire as well,” he said.
Isaak said in a recent email what we all hope for: “With all of the de- struction, injuries and death, I hope
our federal and state leaders con- centrate on reduc- ing wildland fire risks instead of just paying for fire- fighting.”
•••
In some more
Fred Hall
upbeat news, you’ll
see at the bottom
of our front page that the Reedley Fi- esta Committee and Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce is inviting the public to participate in a “name the frog” contest. The frog in question is a new design from local artist Abrianna Lopez, a Reedley College student who someday hopes to be a cartoon anima- tor. Her artistic creation is a tribute to the 50-year anniversary of the city first holding a Frog Jump Contest, one of the popular activities in the annual Fiesta.
You can submit a suggested name to the chamber by emailing to info@ reedleychamberofcommerce.com. You also can send to the chamber’s social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. If you’ve posted a name suggestion on The Exponent’s Facebook page, cover your tracks and email the name to Erik Valencia at the chamber.
Valencia said the plan is for the Fiesta Committee to select the three favorite names submitted, and then put the finalists to a public vote. By the time of the 2018 Fiesta on Oct. 12- 13, the frog will have a new name.
‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ boosts faith in mankind
By Mark Hendrickson
Guest columnist
Full disclosure: I have never seen an episode of the long-running PBS children’s show called “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The only reason I went to see “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” the documentary about Mr. Rogers and his show, was because we were visiting friends who very much wanted to see it. Thank you, dear friends! The movie was very special — poi- gnant, profound, elegantly understated and brimming with kindness, warmth, and understanding.
In one way, the docu- mentary is like the old show itself: a simple story with cheap production values featuring a plain vanilla un- star-like “star.” In another and fundamentally crucial way, the documentary is dif- ferent from the show: it is primarily for adults instead of children. Whereas “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was rated G, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is rated PG-13. It features adults candidly and sometimes colorfully talking about the adults who made the TV show.
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” tells the dual stories of the long-lived
TV show (1968-2001) and of Fred Rogers (1928-2003) himself. Along the way, we get to know Mr. Rogers’ real-life family — his wife and two sons — and his TV family. Both families share a lot of love and affection.
This documentary showed me how often Mr. Rogers used his show to comfort children by cou- rageously and gently ad- dressing such challenges to childhood happiness as the death of a family member (including pets), divorce, scary news stories about war, etc.
The way the documenta- ry makers weave elements of Fred Rogers’ personal life into the narrative about the show is refreshingly original. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is definitely not an “everything you ever wanted to know about Fred Rogers” indulgence. The little we learn about his childhood appears late in the documentary. The ru- mor that I had heard about Mr. Rogers’ military record was debunked. We come to see a man whose work was the embodiment of his life and values.
What surprised me most in this documentary was that Mr. Rogers was the target of denunciations
and protests. Some adults vehemently attacked him for thwarting human de- velopment through the sub- versive technique of telling children, “I like you just the way you are.”
Huh? All I can say is that those critics must not have ever had children themselves. One of the most important things a parent can do for children is to help them feel comfort- able in their own skin. Mr. Rogers wasn’t telling 5-year- olds that they would never have to grow up and get a job. He was giving them the reassurance that it’s OK to be a child today, and not to feel that they had to have the adult world all figured out while they were still in kindergarten. Fred Rogers had the wisdom to realize that the world can be a very confusing, even threaten- ing, place to children, who lack the emotional and ra- tional maturity to cope with all of life’s challenges. How immensely important, then, was his gentle, comfort- ing voice reassuring kids that despite its bumps and bruises, life can still turn out well.
Others condemned Fred Rogers for not being condemnatory. The docu- mentary makes clear that
Mr. Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, up- held Christian standards in his life and on his show, but refrained from blustery denunciations. It becomes clear in the documentary that Mr. Rogers’ saw his ministry as not to sit in judgment and condemn, but simply to love others. He was content to leave the ultimate judgment of indi- viduals to God.
Like many in the cin- ema where I saw “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I had some tears in my eyes. I was deeply moved by how beautiful and powerful a loving heart can be. As I left the cinema, I almost felt a sense of culture shock. At a time when Hollywood relies on over-the-top stimulation to entertain us, this low- key documentary about an unpretentious man and his unpretentious show deliv- ered a deeper, more genu- ine emotional experience. If your faith in the goodness of mankind needs a boost, go see “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and fellow for economic and social policy with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City (Pa.) College.
Jon Earnest
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