Some Places Still Do…

R.S. Helms … 5-12-2017

At least we are patriotic Jesus loving Americans in spots and in a major majority…

I was honored to attend my niece’s high school graduation last night, and knowing they had to hold it on the local college campus, in the sports coliseum venue, which holds 7000, … my wife Jettie and I are in our seventies and after waiting in traffic for nearly an hour, we found parking about ¾ mile from the coliseum, needless to say that is no hill for a climber but in the heavy humidity, and crossing the Bayou, it was a real treat to find the family and our saved seats. 

Once seated, I noticed that the band was playing ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’  nice to hear a national ‘Christian’ instrumental from the Republican North of the Civil War, even here in the South, where the liberal shadow government is at work rewriting history and removing all the confederate statues of New Orleans.  It is going to give ammunition to the republican conservatives when arguing the facts of slavery.  If there is no history of the civil war, then there is no history of the horrors of our nation’s worst time, from the signing of the Declaration of Independence until the end of Jim Crow in the 60s.  Sure, the civil war was fought over slavery, but that was not the only reason of many.  Nonetheless, it was the Southern Democrats who were the prominent slave holders, because of agriculture being the main-stay of the South.  Cotton, Cain Sugar, and Tobacco were the cash crop of the economy, which were heavily taxed to make up for the lack of labor costs, if the government would have enforced the equality statement in the preamble of the Constitution, we would have had the civil war much earlier, if indeed at all.  Slavery and the slave trade was a dark, dark period of the American history; however, good bad and ugly history is history, and ever much as important as anything else we may value as our nation moves forward. I think forced integration was achieved because of history, the history of slavery and the civil war. 

I would have been disappointed if they would have played hip-hop or pop rock, or had a band sit in attempting to entertain the crowd.  Nonetheless, I was noticing the crowd when they had the color guard bring in the colors, the American flag and the state flag, not a seat was left with no one sitting that was able to stand.  It was the quietist moments of the whole night.  Next was the National Anthem, no one sat, no one just stood there, the ones that I could see removed their caps, and placed the hand over the heart.  Then quiet reigned once again as they posted the colors.  Next, was something unique, one of the four-point honor students came to the podium and while the audience still standing … she prayed, a very appropriate prayer for graduating seniors, … closing “in Jesus name” amen, and the whole crowed echoed Amen. 

We had over six hundred in the graduating class of 2017, hundreds were accomplished students, some of which were inducted into the national honor society for life.  I was proud of them each and every one.  They not only achieved four years of education during one of the roughest times in the history of public schools, but they did so with valor and held to their values and determination.  I was honored, and humbled by their achievement.

God bless each of them, as they leave this celebration of — a milestone, and accomplishment moving now into a new adventure … college … or for some … life.

R.S. Helms