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Show Page 6 - THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Sunday, July 5, 1987 The Herald, its readers, syndicated columnists and cartoonists discuss the issues. Opinions The Herald comments Jim YOU AND (MAYBE onsfr'fuffi BEGIN MINISTRY JIM. 1 f UMM I AN il 1 I 11 V TUFDP'; WHAT IDEA-B- UT III I AMM4t If 1M t K.rJ( HIK1UI II ) 1 celebrate the drafting and ratification of the fading parchment we call the Constitution of the United States of America? Because it represents who and what we are, it represents America and all that is good about it and perhaps most of all because it is under serious attack. It is under attack from misuse. It is under attack from misinterpreWhy should we tation. It is under attack from those who would change or subvert it. It is under attack from the great majority who do not appreciate what they have and who don't understand what its loss or subversion would mean. It is under attack from apathy, from ignorance and lack of attention. It is frightening to know that a member of the United States Senate is opposing the appointment of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, in part because, he subscribes to the notion of original intent. That is, that the Constitution should be interpreted according to what the founding fathers intended. The Constitution has served well. It was bold and revolutionary for its time, but it has endured and has met its prime task of uniting the nation with a government that derives its power from the governed. The Constitution has been a stunning success. In the 200 years of its existence, it has outlived the founding documents of every other nation. It has outlived despots, tyrants and oppressors. It has outlived its doubters and detractors who were sure the system would fail. It has outlived excesses in Congress, the courts and The White House. It has outlived an attempt at secession. It has outlived the failure of a president and maintained equilibrium. It has survived world-wid- e war. It has survived the ravages of trai- tors. It has survived scandal in high places and high treason and : And it will outlive the evil of communism and all of its socialist cousins. The founding principles of the Constitution should never be abandoned. They should be fought for and died for if necessary, but never abandoned. It is true that the Constitution has yet to achieve the full potential of the ideals of liberty and justice for all. It is true that equal protection of the laws still remains an elusive goal for many of our citizens. It is true that the document has yet to really assure that each and every American always is treated properly and is aided by his country's founding document in his pursuit of happiness. But there are safeguards and remedies and means for peaceful change in the constitutional republic the document has created. When they disagree in South America they take to the streets with a gun. When we disagree we take to the streets with the Constitution in our hand. We demonstrate, we campaign, we argue and raise a fuss. We exercise, our constitutional right of free speech and we complain. We demand fairness, equal treatment and to be heard and we demand that our property and all in the our rights be secured name of the Constitution. We must tend the tender flame of liberty. The Constitution has survived two centuries because the flame of com- promise and fair play burns brightly in our society. Sometimes it seems to sputter and burn low and sometimes it seems buried in dark shadow, but it has remained alight through it all. Freedom's flame will never be extinguished while good men stand ready to jump to its defense. But it could die if good men turn aside into the dark corridors of ignorance and neglect. The greatest danger to our nation and its founding document is not from abroad, it is from those who lose sight of what they have. The revolution gave us our freedom, but the Constitution gave us the means to keep it. Let us never lose what we have. Fruit port's hospital float was in the right place The town of Fruitport is in Michigan on your way between Muskegon and Grand Rapids. In Fruitport each year they have what they call an Old Fashioned Days Parade. A backward glance at the community's happy times and a celebration of the town's accomplishments and assets. One of those assets, North Ottawa Community Hospital, had a float in this year's hospital parade displaying equipment and some of the newest equipment. Linda Ross from the hospital was riding on that float. As the parade turned down Fourth Avenue it was going right by Linda's home. And she was searching the crowd with her eyes hoping to wave to her tiny daughter. Erin Marie Ross with other family members was expected to watch the parade. She suddenly spotted her tiny daughter ... in the crowd. The child appeared strange ... pale and gasping for breath. Mr. Ross was at the curbside preparing to take snapshots of mommy on the float. He had not noticed that the child was having difficulty breathing apparently choking. "It's my baby; my baby's in trouble!" Linda grabbed the child and turned her with a sudden conupside down. Until she coughed up the vulsive movement piece of hard candy which had been lodged in her throat. It's strange ... That North Ottawa Community Hospital float was the most beautiful in the whole parade. Really was. Parade judges had made that choice earlier. In the parade lineup it was supposed to have been in the No. 1 position up front leading the parade. But somehow for a reason nobody can explain, the parade order was scrambled and that float was second from the last. tS I K.a aAfc II J W I I ABOUT FIFTIES AND 1 HUNDRED5 1 V Hoping for a 'speedy' recovery I have never had a a really decent I always seem to get whim-p- y ni going 67 traffic ticket. ones. I got one for going 67 miles the other day. per hour on Sixty-seven- ? OK it was on the 55 mile an hour part of the freeway (wherever that starts and ends between Salt Lake and Provo) but it was on a road designed safely for 70. I know, you've heard all of that before and if I was speeding I deserve to get caught and I should pay without complain- ' ing. You're right, of course. That's what I told the officer. He asked me if I knew I was in the 55 zone. I looked around me and said "yes." What I should have said was: "Now that I have been stopped with flashing lights by a uniformed highwayman, and I have had a moment to realize where I am, I am aware that we are in the 55 mile area. "However, as I was driving along, watching the signs, listening to Bach at 50 decibals and inhaling my air conditioner, thinking about how late I was for my I wasn't aware of it." friend's funeral I should have told him it's confusing, all of this speeding up and slowing down between here and Salt Lake, especially when everyone speeds up like greyhounds out of a starting gate as they pass the 65 sign, BUT NO ONE EVER SLOWS DOWN AT THE 55 SIGN. Well that's not entirely true. What happens is that if you miss the speed up sign you will be killed in the rush the unofficial-spee- d to jump from 64.9 mph limit Utahns drive at in 55 zones to 74.9 mph, the Utah version of 65. But at the other end, the slow down is so imperceptible that it takes five to 10 miles to drift down from 74.9 to 64.9. It takes more attention to detail and more self confidence than I have to suddenly hit the brake at the 55 sign and drop d down a full 10 miles an hour with a 18 wheeler spewing sparks and fumes down your back. I am nearly killed daily by guys going better than 80 and I get nailed for 67? Its just not fair. Like most poeple, I'm always in a hurry. I think I must have been born about 10 minutes late and my internal universe has been about 10 minutes out of sync ever since. And I can go for thousands of miles and be within legal limits and then suddenly in an inattentive moment I drift over the limit and I get stopped. To be fair with the state's highwaymen, they have given me a couple of warnings. Once I was stopped because I was accused of being only a tenth of a second fully-loade- Hobert MvDougall Managing Editor behind another car and according to the officer's little plastic stopwatch I should have been at least a second behind. I was incredulous. If there's a requirement to drive with a stopwatch in my hand why wasn't it mentioned in the drivers handbook I demanded to know? And I also wanted to know why there had not been news releases about a timed trailing distance rather than a number of feet? And I told the officer he could never get a conviction with a $4.95 stopwatch from a Cracker Jack box because even if he could prove his little gadget was accurate, he could never convince anyone that his finger was fast enough to be able to punch his watch on and off with any accuracy h of a second. within He let me go. The other time was when I missed my turnoff in the snow, hit my brakes and broadsided down the street for a hundred one-tent- yards. I passed the drunk test so the highwayman let me go. Mostly when, I get stopped though, they just write a ticket. I am sure my technique is poor. Whenever I get stopped I turn surly, tense, angry, miserable and I fume in humiliation as the world rolls by at 80 miles an hour while I'm getting a ticket for going 67. When I get stopped, I don't feel like social chat, all I want to do is get in his car fast to see how fast the radar gun says I was going. I want to know if I managed to get my foot to the brake fast enough when I saw him to shave a few miles off the truth. I want to know how much this is going to cost. My friends say you have to charm these men, offer them a plausible explanation' and give them an excuse to be lenient. "Talk to them, apologize, cry, be repen tant," one of my friends advised. I don't cry well. ; I once jumped out of my car and said;tb a startled patrolman, "Forgive me officer for I have sinned." "You are forgiven my son," he shot back. "It will only cost you $40 in penance." "Offer them something," said another friend. I looked at her blonde hair and curves and at my middle aged flab and decided I had little to offer. So now I just bite the bullet and pay. By the way, the state has finally made it as easy to clear a traffic sin as it is to pay your electric bill. They have a list of fines, a mail-i- n envelope and some nice officers (like mine was) highlight your fine amount, who to make the check to and the return address in bright yellow highlighter. In the old days, they would give you the name of an obscure JP judge who lived on an unnumbered street in an unnamed part of Utah County and who never answered his phone to tell you how much to send him. The new system is much smoother even if you're unlucky enough to get a whimpy ticket for 67. The only improvement I can suggest is that instead of humiliating you and risking the officer's life with a highway stop, they should just send you a ticket in the mail. Or even better, why don't we all give the state our Visa number at the time we get our license and have it charged and forget all the bother. The state gets its money, you get to your appointment on time, you feel determined to repent, in due course when your Visa statement comes, the officer can increase his ticket income a hundred fold ... everyone is happy. By the way. I do believe in driving at legal limits. I don't flaunt the law or play cat and mouse with state troopers. : A couple of weeks ago I was leaving for a five state, 3,000 mile tour through the Northwest. As I was leaving my grandmother offered to lend me her radar detector. I said, "Nan, your grandson believeSHn upholding and sustaining the law of the land. I drive at legal speeds." ; She shrugged, stuffed her detector in her purse and said something about "your funeral." ; I made the 3,000 miles and the other 55,000 I have driven this year without a ticket except for one. ! Feedback Parade season means Fire Baton Corps working with danger Editor, Herald: Since the parade season is upon us. I would like to express some concerns that I have regarding the safety of a few spectators that will be watching this summer's parados. I teach dance and baton. Since moving to Utah County, I have been working hard developing and organizing Utah County's first fire baton corps. This year, instead of one, I have five fire twirlers marching in the local parades. For many people, fire twirling is a very exciting and exotic thing to watch. But, in this area, I am amazed with the carelessness a few parade spectators have around fire. Therefore, I feel I must "educate" Utahns on how to safely watch; and also, to answer a few questions some have asked about fire twirling. 1. YES! It is REAL FIRE! I am amazed at how many people don't believe the batons are on fire. The batons are specially made to be soaked in gas and ignited with a match. It is HOT and it BURNS! 2. When watching fire twirling, it is very important to stay at a safe distance. I can't believe how many people casually wander dangerously close, or through, marching fire twirlers. What most people don't realize, is that the girls twirling fire have been carefully sprayed and soaked from head to foot with a special flame retardant. Their costumes, hair, and every inch of their body has been soaked with this retardant. The helpers that walk and assist the fire twirlers; and even the child carrying the banner in front of the twirler, are thoroughly sprayed with retardant (especially the hair). 3. Don't blow at a flame that has been ignited by gas. The flames follow the gas and they won't go out by blowing on them. When you blow on a gas ignited flame, it can "snap" right back into your face. 4. If the wind is gusty, the batons will not be ignited. That is why you will sometime see fire twirlers performing without flames on their batons. Watching fire twirling is fun and very enjoyable to see. I would like to continue to entertain Utah County residents with this unique type of performance without harm to anyone. It is quite sate to watch if you are just aware of the dangers by keeping at a safe distance and enjoy its beauty. last comment. just completed pertorming Also, one My group has in Orem's pa- rade and we enjoyed the experience. I understand that it is Orem's first parade in a few years and they are a little "rusty" in their organization. Our biggest problem in marching this parade was in crowd control. We were at the end of the parade and in the last few blocks, it was a little We had people and bicyclists wandering through our line of twirlers. The bicyclists were the worst. hair-raisin- My girls were trying their best to perform their routine while bicycles were bumping : into them. Many people were walking dangeorusly close to the fire twirlers; in spite of, or ignoring our warnings to stay back. The last block, my girls were almost buried in the corwd and we had a hard time keeping track of everyone. We really needed the help of officials and police in controlling the crowd. ; '. m Orem officials did a good job withlthis parade, but they need to oversee and control the crowd a little more. Florence T. Adams, Director The Blue Crystals Dance & Baton Corps |