Learn from the past to create a better tomorrow

Letters

Discussion

November 18, 2009

Anonymous The Union-Recorder Wed Nov 18, 2009, 08:00 AM EST

According to Sparta Ishmaelite editor Chuck Reynolds, “dwelling on the past, dooms you to re-living it.” I agree. Unfortunately our community seems content re-living the past, resisting attempts to learn from it.

Passionately sharing his story: “… Born and raised here. I remember what it used to be like. I witnessed the transformation… Hancock County and Sparta going from a thriving community with businesses and industry to the ghost town today…”

I remember downtown Sparta/Hancock County’s thriving economy built on enslavement, oppression and exploitation of African-American citizens well into the 20th century.

Charles Dickens’ “Tale of Two Cities” begins: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…in short, the period was so far like the present period...”

My best memories are Deacon Brown’s Sunday School, Miss Lilly’s candy store and playing softball. These hopeful memories are tainted with the humiliating conditions of segregation.

My worst memories are Dr. Green’s colored waiting room, colored bathrooms, sharecropping and adolescences using my mother’s first name. I remember legal segregation, separate and unequal schools, and taxation without representation.

We can’t change the past, we can learn from it by telling the whole story. The conditions I describe were legally sanctioned. Segregation was wrong. Stop pretending it wasn’t so bad, that I didn’t mind; it was my God given place.

Dickens concludes “A Tale of Two Cities,” “I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long, long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time…gradually… wearing out.”

Recent activism signals the “wearing out” of the old system. What happens when it does? We have an unprecedented opportunity to create “the beloved community;” a community built on equity and fairness.

What are we waiting for? Let’s get started. We have work to do.

Jeanette Vaughn Waddell

Sparta

Text Only

Letters

Milledgeville Golf Assoc. given letter of thanks
The Milledgeville Golf Association received a letter of thanks from Ms. Vonetta R. Martin of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, located in Milledgeville.

February 11, 2012
Balloons from SCA were litter, not Scripture
On Jan. 27, The Union-Recorder printed a photograph of children at Sinclair Christian Academy releasing 100 balloons into the air.

February 1, 2012
Praise for Obama’s stance on birth control
As a Catholic, I applaud the Obama administration for ensuring that nurses, teachers and secretaries have access to affordable birth control.

January 28, 2012
Carl Vinson an integral part of local history
I read with interest recently the article “Community gives much to history.”

January 25, 2012
Thank you for helping a family in need
Christmas has always been a special time of celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

January 18, 2012
Thank you for help with Eagle Scout project
I would like to take this opportunity to thank several people for their help with completing my Eagle Scout project.

January 7, 2012
To Jean Aycock Oconee Regional Medical Center
Harold and my life have been so hectic and traumatic ever since July when we found that Harold has pancreatic cancer.

December 31, 2011
Pilot Club appreciates help on its projects
On Saturday, Nov. 5, the Pilot Club of Milledgeville held its 12th annual “Child Seat Safety Check” at the Milledgeville Mall.

December 24, 2011
Thank you for successful Christmas parade
This year’s Christmas Parade was the largest and attended by more people than any parade in a long time.

December 17, 2011
Support a new American Christmas tradition
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.

December 10, 2011
More Letters Headlines

Letters

Search Results

Discussion

Learn from the past to create a better tomorrow

Site Map

Contact Us