Show Sunday September 29 2002 a4 The Herald journal Our view Patriots fight to retain freedoms N ow that we've passed Constitution Week Independence Day and marked the anniversary of Sept 1 1 and the waves of American pride have swept over us in tides of red white and blue it's time to contem’ plate the difference between patriots and patriotism It's easy for people to go to the store and buy hand-hel- d flags to wave in parades With a dispassionate monotony it's easy to recite the pledge of allegiance And phrases like “rockets’ red glare” and “Oh say can you see" seem to roll off our tongues Loving Abraham Lincoln is easy ' And that's patriotism — the act of showing pride in one's country and its history Being a patriot is something different though It's hard to watch some people stand with marked disinterest when the “Star Spangled Banner” is played It might even be irksome that some people’s lips don't move when asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance Yet the choice to believe uphold and participate in our government is equally as valid as objecting to our government's policies debunking its ideals or protesting peacefully Freedom of thought and freedom of choice is nice as a philo- sophical ideal but putting it into practice takes the vigilance and tolerance of true patriots Being a patriot means acknowledging and living by those precepts' which at times can almost seem antithetical to freedom A patriot Your must stomach the idea of contemptible groups such as the Klu Klux Klan marching down the street holding banners that herald racist principles A patriot must watch as an American flag bums in protest A ' patriot must tolerate the wiles of a temporarily irresponsible media A patriot does these things not with the understanding that these actions — as objectionable as they may be — are right or wrong but they must endure because they know ' that the Constitution has guaranteed these freedoms so that no person or group's power ideas or principles are automatically set above any other's And it takes more than just a recitation of a pledge to realize that the Constitution does a masterful job at doing the things humans have a hard lime doing The Constitution is respectful to ' differences of opinions The Consti- tution guarantees freedoms that could otherwise be taken awayat the whims of leaders and lawmakers ' And finally the Constitution demands that we continually push ourselves to be the leaders of worldwide freedom: Granted that doesn’t come with an inexpensive price tag In order to' ensure freedom for ourselves aind countless others millions have died foj this cause We salute those who fought for these rights and we believe that these brave men and women who have served haven't necessarily ' fought for one particular issue or another but rather have fought for a greater principle — the cause of view justice for all posterity The Supreme Court upholds the Constitution as the supreme law of the land Local and stale laws cannot infringe upon an To the editor: individual's inalienable rights which man who came As an 86 year-ol- d are guaranteed by the Constitution to see Idaho State University play However some rights may be Utah State University on Sept 14 at waived through contracts CorporaLogan I am very unhappy with the tions for example are public entities treatment I received from a Logan created by contracts with the state person known as corporate charters They I arrived at the stadium and found are privileges and do not all parking reserved at a $15 entrance havegranted the same inalienable rights as fee Driving around I found a vacant ’individuals do They cannot super- lot with several cars in it I parked rede an individual's inalienable the car and walked four blocks back rights because that would be tyranny to the stadium and upon returning Many public officials who swear an after the game found my car tires oath to uphold the Constitution and booted and an attendant 'demanding a attorneys do not understand this con$50 penalty for parking in the lot cept The attendant wasn't there when I “The people who have created parked) In addition six other cars can give to that governgovernment were hooted too None of us noticed ment only such powers as they themthe small sign indicating no parking selves have in the first place ' or cars would he towed or penalized Obviously they cannot give that What a nickel I'll bet he makes lots which they do not possess anything of money there on game days This is more than that would be usurpation no way to treat a visitor from out of Our government was formed as a state to protect the weak individIn addition Bengal fans were given republic ual A group of people cannot get cold metal bleacher scats on west together and impose rules that dimingoal end at the same price as ish the inalienable rights of other reserved All parking at Holt Arena is individuals free Our economy is severely stifled by strict shortsighted zoning laws many Henry Tuckett rules codes licenses fees etc that Pocatello Idaho make difficult to prosper How did we ever get along without zoning laws? We prospered greatly before they went into effect Strict zoning laws are very disheartening and depressing because they discourage To the editor economic initiative and violate a forefathers created the US Our inalienthe to Constitution protect See YOUR VIEW on A12 able rights of freedom liberty and Parking for USU game discouraging New York in a word or more By Bruce Smith We started out last summer as two or three couples going to New York City to see two or three Broadway musicals ended up last week with 41 people spending six days ' exploring all of Manhattan Island and beyond As Karen and I were waiting at the airport in Newark last Sunday afternoon to come home we began reminiscing about our New York experience using one word expres- sions that we thought would catch the sum and substance of our trip Some : of the words We cam up with were Denise Denise was our guide She is an unemployed Broadway performer that had more personality and energy than our entire group of 41 combined She met us at the airport and immediately let us know that we were in for a great time She informed us entertained us and was able to communicate to us her passionate love for the Big Apple Her voice was like nothing we had ever heard before and when she spoke there was no question that the New York accent and the loud voice we heard belonged to Denise When she spoke we had no choice but to listen She led us around the crowded streets of New York with hands above her head using arm and hand gestures that looked like a combination of leading music directing traffic and landing airplanes Cheesecake Most nights after going to a musical a few of our group ended up at the Carnegie Delicatessen for cheesecake We would use that time to unwind and remi- nisce about the activities of the day before heading back to the hotel for the night There’s no cheesecake like Carnegie Deli cheesecake Zoning laws stifle economy high-pitch- ed Subway For most of our group rid- -' ing the New York subway system ' was a brand-ne- w experience We all decided that it wasn’t so bad and once we figured out how it worked we could go almost any where on the subway train Apollo One of the most interesting things we did was visit the Apolj 16 Theater in Harlem The thought of going to Harlem was a little scary but Denise was there to take care of us Billy our Apollo tour guide made our “behind the scenes” tour memorable Billy is about 50 years t old and had worked at the Apollo since he was a small boy so he knew a lot of history and most of the famous blackperformers that had their start at “Amateur Night at the Apollo” He didn’t have to do much coaxing before he had five volunteers Ron Canfield Dessa Wade Gina Ellsworth Karen Haslem and Shauna Thorpe on stage to rub the ‘Tree of Hope” and then perform Ron sang about whiskey and wild women Dessa Gina Karen and Shauna did a little dance With a little coaxing Gary Hillyard the star of the show took die stage and told a very short joke Sylvia’s Denise told us that we had to try some soul food while we were in Harlem so we made a visit to Sylvia’s: We ate pur fill of ribs and chicken while we listened to Lonnie Youngblood and Cache Valley’s own Dessa Wade entertain us with some good old gospel music Ground Zero Since Sept 11 2001 no visit to New York would be complete with out a visit to the site where the twin towns of the World Trade Center once dominated the skyline We were there early in the morning it wasn't crowded so we could take as much time as we wanted at the site The site was smaller that it appears on television The mood of our group at Ground Zero was somber San Gennaro This is the name of an annual Italian festival in Little ' Italy None of us had any idea what the festival was all about but we did enjoy the huge variety of delicious Italian food We spent most of one afternoon going from booth to booth grazing bn Italian goodies “Mamma Mia” The name of the musical we saw the first night Loud music but very entertaining “Lion King” The second night’s musical - “Aida” Some went to the musical “Aida” while others Went to “42nd Street” I wished I had gone to ’ “Aida” ' Naked Cowboy This isn’t the ' - name of a Broadway show it’s the name of a guy who stands On the street in the middle of Times Square in his underwear and cowboy hat playing the guitar We knew his name was the Naked Cowboy because he had it printed on the back of his briefs Mets Our wives bribed us to take them tb a Broadway show every night by promising us that we would get to see a Mets baseball game at Shea Stadium Our attendance at the game was noted on the huge score-boa- rd with “Welcome to our friends from Utah” We would have preferred a Yankee game but they were out of town that week Finally “The Producers” The real purpose of our trip was to see the Broadway musical “The Producers” Our tickets were purchased month’s ahead of time Everyone was envious that we were able to get tickets “The Producer?” is the hot ticket for a Broadway draw and the tickets are hard to get Some of our group seemed to enjoy it but I was disappointed I guess I’m too old to appreciate or understandthe naughty humor of Mel Brooks All 41 of us were completely exhausted by the time we got back to Cache Valley very early Monday morning Charlie Davis suggested that it would be fun to do another trip again in 2004 except this time go to London I think Karen has started to work on it Bruce Smith is The Herald Journal's publisher His column appears on the Opinion page every other Sundry He can be reached by at bsmith O hjrrewscom ail Lawmakers CACHE COUNTY COUNCIL John A Hansen —representing the south district — 252 EMain Hyrum ‘ Darrel Lee Gibbons —representing thenorth district — 840 S 1600 West Lewiston 84320 258-523- 8 Layne Beck —representing the northeast district— 628 E 380 South Smithfield 84335 563-322- 9 84319245-658- 4 Comical Cache ‘ Larry Anhder —representing the southeast district — 3475 S 250 West Logan 84321 753:5104 Cory Yeates —representing Logan district No 1—281 SltX) East 7 Logan 84321 Kathy Robison —representing Logan district No 2— 335 N 400 West Logan Q4321 7586109 Craig Petersen -r- epresenting Logan district No 3— 1440 E 1220 North Logan 84341 8 752-902- 752-667- Herald Journal iBtaamm The Herald Journal weioomes totters to 'hw Opinion page to intended to acquaint readers wfih a variety of viewpoints on matters of pubic importance and provide membersof the community with a forum tor Mr views Personal columns cartoons and letters tan readers refect to opinions of their writers and creators Edferiais under to hsadknT)ur View represent to views of to Herald Journal edterial board Mentors of to editorial board: I - DARRELL EHRUCKfcHyedtor CINDY YURTWeaturesedtor BRUCE SMITHpubfehar CHARLES MoCOLLUWmanaglng editor are more Kfyftj to 6efathered out of a multitude of tongues tfkn tfimugfi an L to edtor Potsnialy Mraious or offensive totters not be puHshsd however and to editor reserves to right to edtal letters to conform to to length and styto requirements of to newspaper ' Letters should be: Typewritten and double-space- d No more than 450 words In length- : Addressed arx! include daytime phone number for purposes of verification ' author Signed by IndMrfoato are Imfed to one pubfished totter within any 30day period Address to lattereto hjtottarOhjnewseori Guest com- mentartos are also welcome and sre run at toadtortottacrafen — Judge Learned flutd American jurist (1S72-136- 1) |