Georgia Magazine - July 2010 - (Page 5)

GEMC ® M A G A Z I N E www.georgiamagazine.org (800) 544-4362, in Georgia; (770) 270-6950 GEORGIA Magazine, the largest-circulation monthly magazine in the state, is published by Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (GEMC), the trade association for Georgia’s 42 consumer-owned electric utilities. On average, more than 500,000 members welcome the magazine into their homes each month. Georgia’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives provide reliable, safe and affordable electric service to more than 73 percent of the state’s land area serving 4.5 million residents. For more information, visit www.georgiaemc.com. EDITOR Ann Orowski, CCC MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Hewett, CCC ASSOCIATE EDITOR Victoria Scharf DeCastro PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Steve Jacobs ASSISTANT EDITOR Kevin Braun ASSISTANT EDITOR Jim Jess EDITORIAL INTERN Sarah Bakhtiari CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Just a bunch of old men? BY PAUL WOOD President/CEO, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation W Lynn Coulter, James Dulley, Deborah Geering, Pepper Ellis Hagebak, Jim Jess, Pamela Keene, Jackie Kennedy, Bret Love, Jeff Rancudo, Bill Verner CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Sanjay Acharya, David Cappaert, James Dulley, Mary Gabbett, Samuel Grant, Jama Hedgecoth, Kelly Hester, Bret Love, Patrick McComas, Kurtis Miller, David H. Nash, Cara Pastore, Jeff Rancudo, Brian Rickmond ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Laurel George, (404) 541-0628; Laine Kirby Wood, (770) 289-5700 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE National Country Market, (800) 626-1181 DESIGNERS Trudie Thibodeaux, Kerstin Weis Mary Wellman, (770) 270-6981 SUBSCRIPTIONS 2010 ADVISORY BOARD Christy Chewning, Jeffrey Ferguson, Tony Griffin, Stacey Fields, Johnnie B. Hall, Pamela Keene, Doyle Medders, Jeff Pierce, Donnie Prince, Steve Rawl, Brandon Reese, Romeo Reyes, Tony Sinclair, Jere Thorne GEORGIA EMC OFFICERS CHAIRMAN Neal Talton, Flint Energies VICE CHAIRMAN Alice Mallory, Coweta-Fayette EMC SEC.-TREASURER Randy Crenshaw, Irwin EMC PRESIDENT/CEO, GEMC A. Paul Wood georgia Magazine (USPS-473120, ISSN 10615822) is published monthly by Georgia Electric Membership Corp., P.O. Box 1707, 2100 East Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 30085. Periodicals postage paid at Thomaston, GA, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GEORGIA Magazine, P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Printed in Georgia by Quad/Graphics. Acceptance of advertising by GEORGIA Magazine does not imply endorsement by the publisher or Georgia’s electric membership corporations of the product or services advertised. GEORGIA Magazine’s LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN, OR OMISSIONS OF, ADVERTISEMENTS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR IN TORT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES TO THE ADVERTISER’S BUSINESS, SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF CHARGES FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT THAT WAS OMITTED OR IN WHICH THE ERROR OCCURRED. hile visiting the National Portrait Gallery in Washington recently, I found myself standing in front of a portrait of John Jay. A young man standing next to me was reading the nameplate. When I approached, he asked, “Who was John Jay?” “What country are you from?” I asked. “Oh, I’m not from a foreign country; I’m from New Jersey,” he said. He took another look at several portraits of our founding fathers, and as he walked away, said, “They look like just a bunch of old men to me.” I left the gallery, wondering, “Is anyone studying American history anymore?” A TV news program recently showed a video clip of several members of Congress holding a press conference on the steps of the Capitol. One made this statement: “As it says in the Declaration of Independence, ‘We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,’ declare our independence …’” I was stunned, then embarrassed, for my nation. He was quoting erroneously the U.S. Constitution—not the Declaration of Independence. We, as a people, must insist that our schools do a better job of teaching American history to our children. How can they be expected to hold inviolable the principles upon which we were founded if they know nothing of our nation’s history or the Founding Fathers who created the documents upon which the rule of law was established? Let me make this suggestion: There are millions of people listening to talk radio and watching the 24/7 www.georgiamagazine.org news channels every day. Why not ask each of the hosts to set aside a minute, perhaps two minutes, at the end of each program to present one of the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights and the 17 additional amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Each day, a new amendment could be presented. Perhaps another 45 seconds could be allocated to explain its meaning. It would take less than a month to present all the amendments to the Constitution. Other documents such as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay’s “The Federalist Papers,” Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty” speech, or Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address could be held for another day—important as they are to us. Is that too much to ask? I hope not. When the Constitutional Convention completed its work in the summer of 1787, Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said, “You have a republic, if you can keep it.” He knew well the fragile nature of the new government and that each generation would have to be willing to expend its own measure of sweat and resources in order to “keep it.” That’s where you and I come in—and our children. As we commemorate the 234th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson’s eloquent rejection of allegiance to the government of King George III—can we call ourselves patriots if we do not have a working familiarity with the key founding documents? John Jay? He was the first chief justice of the United States. 5 July 2010 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiaemc.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - July 2010

Georgia Magazine - July 2010
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar
Currents
Special Energy Report
Where the Wild Things Are
Still Going Strong
Reliving History and Exploring Nature
Around Georgia
Georgia@Home
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Cookbook of the Month
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - July 2010