by Bob Stealey

editor

Quite an interesting article was presented to me recently by Jim Hood of Broad Oaks. He brought in a copy of a page from the publication Voice in the Wilderness. Believe it or not -- after you've read it -- it was a newspaperman, Michael J. Herline of the Bedford (PA) Gazette who wrote the piece, titled, "Don't Say OK To Gun Control," but I admire his crafty progression of thought, which I'd like to share with you today:

"In the light of the 'Million Mom March' in Washington, where participants demanded more gun control laws because of the killings of children such as those at Columbine and Michigan, I share this analogy that I came across titled 'How It Happened.'

"Let's see. I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained that she did not want any prayers in our schools. And we said OK. Then somebody said you had better not read the Bible in school; the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

"Dr. (Benjamin) Spock said we should not spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. And we said that an expert should know what he was talking about, so we don't spank them anymore.

"Then somebody said let us permit our daughters to have abortions if they want to and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said, that's a grand idea. Then some wise school board member said since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said, that's another great idea.

"Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the president, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good. And then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body.

"Then someone else took that appreciation a bit further and published pictures of children and then stepped further still by making them available on the Internet. And we said they're entitled to their free speech. And the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex. And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide and satanic themes. And we said, it's just entertainment.

"Therefore, now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, classmates and themselves.

"Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'We Reap What We Sow.' And then we have a president who wants more gun control because he wants children's lives to be saved; however, he doesn't care when they are murdered through abortions. But that's for another time."

My appreciation to Jim Hood for his contribution.

Have a super week!

Bob Stealey can be reached by phone at (304) 626-1438 or by e-mail at rstealey@exponent-telegram.com.

Finally, Mike Baginsky of 324 Rosemont Ave. in Broad Oaks has requested that I ask readers if they may recall the songs "Clarksburg, My Home Town" or "Jewel of the Hills." I believe I used something about one or both songs in Bob'n'Along a year or two ago. He'd like to know by whom either or both songs had been written and wondered if there's somewhere he could obtain a copy of the song.

If you can answer Mike's question, his e-mail address is mm@iolinc.net.