Page 6 - 7-1-15 Friday's Edition

Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months Both Editions: $87.00-Per Year Both Editions.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
Tiger’s Problem Is Both Physical And Mental
iger Woods was the
most recognized and best golfer on the planet. Then one night he and his now ex- wife, Elin, had a fight that eventually led to a divorce, on top of Tiger suffering from a series of injuries that affected his game. Then, and more im- portantly, he had a burning de- sire to spend as much time as possible with his two children.
All of this and trying to play professional golf is enough to put a strain on any man. It cer- tainly has been a brain freeze on Eldridge ‘Tiger’ Woods.
In a span of four years, he has fallen from the number one rated golfer in this uni- verse to the 200th rank golfer in the world.
There was a time when no- body looked to see where Tiger stood in a golf tourna- ment. Did he make the cut? Of
course he did. Are you crazy? If you wanted to know what Woods shot just look among the tournament lead- ers. That is no longer the case. The Tiger has not won any kind of tournament since the Stamp Act. Did he make the cut is a very reasonable ques- tion to ask these days. Finding Tiger’s name on the leader board is easy. Just look to the bottom of that board and you
will see his name.
Tiger Woods used to be
respected by golfers, sport writers and fans alike... The name Tiger Woods was spo- ken with a great deal of reve- rence, but not anymore.
He and his golf game make for a bundle of jokes and a host of derogatory talk.
People are speculating as to what has happen to Woods’ game and I am going
to join the millions who have offered their opinions.
So here goes mine. I think that Tiger’s problem is physi- cal and mental.
I am sure that Woods’ in- juries over the years have taken a toll and require serious medical treatment. His golf fundamentals require some major changes. He needs a top-notch swing coach to help him refine his swing.
Then he must remember his game started going down hill after the violence at home that led to the divorce. I think that Tiger’s major problem was the divorce. Tiger wants to get back home to Elin.
Woods has got to take care of three problems before his game returns: to get back home, find him a good psy- chologist and a good marriage counselor.
In the meantime, he needs to find a reputable swing coach that he will listen to. Tiger can practice and play all the golf he wants. He can chase down all the divas there are. Until he addresses his three problems nothing else will matter.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
The Fourth Of July, Two Centuries Ago
he date was July, 5, 1852. The place was Corinthian
Hall, Rochester, New York. And the speaker was none other than a rising abolitionist and runaway slave with a bounty on his head who had changed his name and now was known, no longer as Frederick Bailey, but as Frederick Dou- glass. He had been invited to extol the virtues of the Fourth of July, better known as Independence Day. The following is some of what Douglass said.
“Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I or those I rep- resent, to do with your national independence? . . . For the present, is it enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race? Is it not astonishing that, while we are plowing, planting, and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, work- ing in metals or brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that while we are reading, writing and cyphering, acting as clerks, merchants, and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators, and teachers: that while we are engaged in all manner of en- terprises common to other men [and women] . . .living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as hus- bands, wives, and children, and above all, confessing and worshiping the Christian’s God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men!” Even the mice were quiet.
While you’re eating your barbecued spare ribs and enjoy- ing a nice-cold beverage, this hot July Fourth, think about the words of a runaway slave who held an all-white audito- rium in the palm of his hand as he sought to establish what the Fourth of July meant to him. By the way, what does the Fourth of July mean to you?
Welcome To New Sodom
ell it's official. Ac-
cording to a Supreme Court ruling on Friday mar- riage is no longer an arrange- ment exclusively reserved for male and female couples who want to enter into a legally
binding contract.
As the country's highest
court announced any two adults of legal age can enter into the institution in all 50 states under the protection of federal law. And that means, regardless of how offensive these unions may be to some, there's nothing anyone can do to stop them from taking place.
Depending on what side of the argument you're on, this could be considered a prime example of what's either very right or very wrong with the separation between church and state. This is largely due to the fact that, with this land- mark decision, the Court has decided that faith based prin- ciples carry no weight when it comes to an individual’s rights and freedoms.
I don't think anyone should be surprised by what we're wit- nessing. With the momentum the LGBT movement has gained over the last 10 years, having same-sex marriages legally recognized throughout the nation was inevitable.
It was never a question of "if" it would happen in our life- time. We just never knew when.
On the day of the ruling
someone asked me if I was going to write a scathing cri- tique of the Court's decision? He thought it would be a good idea for me to use this plat- form to condemn the Court and to, basically, become yet another voice for social intol- erance.
Of course, I told him that wasn't going to happen. In- stead, I suggested that he cre- ate his own newspaper column, where he could spew all of the anti-gay rhetoric he wanted because there was no way I was going to play the role of a new-age Archie Bunker in this current climate of super-political correctness.
This doesn't mean that I've become a defender of the rain- bow (I've been on the boys who like girls team for a while now). To me, it just doesn't make much sense to waste en- ergy fighting against a raging current.
What many individuals, like the guy I mentioned earlier, fail to realize is that the train has already left the station. Whether or not I, or anyone else, agree with the belief that marriage is suppose to involve the joining of two members of the opposite sex doesn't matter anymore.
The fact is, as of a week ago, people are now allowed to be- come husband and husband or wife and wife. Whether we like it or not, Tyrone and Willie are going to tie the knot in some kind of ceremony. It may
not take place in the church, mosque, temple or synagogue you attend. But, it's definitely going to happen somewhere.
As I've said on previous oc- casions, who cares if the cou- ple next door, gay or straight, is legally married or not, any- way? As long as they're not building bombs to blow up the neighborhood, however they're living in the home they're paying for, is their business.
Besides, most people have a hard enough time navigating their own lives without trying to dictate the standards of someone else's. But that per- spective often gets lost in translation.
With that being said, it may be time that we all just get over the issue. At this point, it sim- ply is what it is. And, at the end of the day, if you feel as though these individuals are commit- ting a sin by violating the sanc- tity of marriage, the tenets of your faith, whether it be Chris- tianity, Islam or Judaism, you really shouldn't have to worry.
According to the Scriptures, one day they'll have to answer for their actions while standing alone in front of the ultimate Judge. In the meantime, the rest of us would be wise to work on our own flaws because I'm sure, when it's our turn to meet the Maker, some of the decisions we've made over the years will also need some ex- plaining.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityon- ice@yahoo.com.
When Our Potus Sang ‘Amazing Grace’
hat’s “POTUS” (aka: President Of The United States),
and on a somber afternoon, standing on stage, in eu- logy of the slain Pastor-South Carolina legislator Rev. Clementa Pinkney, our POTUS, President Barack Obama did something no other chief executive has ever done. He paused for a moment, stared down at his hands then out in space with an intense stare, and from somewhere deep in his chest, he began to sing, “A-MA-ZING GRACE! HOW SWEET THE SOUND . . .!”
The audience . . . and the world was stunned. Comedian Bill Maher talked about it, but not in jest. FOX News carried it, not really knowing how to bring sarcasm to a saintly situ- ation. Not even ISIS half-way ‘round the world could think of something to do or say that might denigrate the majesty of what America’s president achieved.
And what did he achieve? You know that answer as well as we. For one moment, in the singing of a song written a century ago by a former slave-trader, our POTUS brought America and the world full-circle toward its true history and its unavoidable destiny. Indeed, he said many other things, but when he sang “Amazing Grace,” President Obama libe- rated not only our nation, but he went far to freeing the human race.
T
T
T
W
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015