Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 January 2002 — Page 7

FRIDAY, JANUARY 4,2002

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGEA7

Readers Respond

America sendina wrong message in the name of freedom

By ANGELA SHELTON BECKLES Writer’s Note: I would like to dedicate this columri to my parents, Lee and Margie Shelton. May God bless them with longevity and peace. Throughout the world, America is a beacon of hope for masses of people that have no hope in their homelands. America is a shining light in a sea of darkness. America is a place of freedom for masses of people without freedom. How can a country that offers so much freedom and hope cause so much fear in most Muslim countries? When the Gulf War ended in 1991, it ended with American troops based in Saudi Arabia and this is true today. For the first time since the Crusades, Western tfoops occupy Middle Eastern territory. If history is a dictator of the future, then it will be a short time before Western influence will overwhelm Middle Eastern society. This belief causes fear in most Islamic people, extreme or otherwise. Many Muslims fear because they have a distorted view of this country and its many cultures. Many Muslims believe America’s freedom creates a culture that has no restraints. Self-indulgence, in the name of freedom, is at an all time high. Many men and women in our society abandon their marriage and children for their own selfish

desires.

Many women in our country are seen as having little sense of modesty with a “let it all bang out” mentality. Too many , Americans die from drinking and driving or becoming drunk and disorderly. Most, if not all,

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Muslim nations view our entertainment — TV, movies, music, and magazines as immoral. Partial birth abortion is legal in the name of freedom of choice. In America, crime is a serious problem. America has more of its citizens incarcerated than in any other country on Earth after China. Many Muslims in our country understand and clearly see this as a problem as related to an Islamic way of life. If we could just understand this, we would be able to understand why many Muslims dislike the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia, which houses the holy shrines of Islam. Therefore, many Muslims view this war against terrorism as a war of good against evil, but from the viewpoint that Islam represents the good and America as the evil. This is one of the reasons why as many as 10,000 Pakistanis are willing to fight on the side of the Taliban. This war is a “struggle” or Jihad to maintain the Islamic way of life in the Middle Eastern region of the world. The above descriptions of lAmerica are sad but true. However, there is more to America than the degradation that we see in the various forms of entertainment and other areas of American life. America is great. Her citizenry is the most giving of any other in the world. Various charities from the Red Cross to Doctors Without Boarders serve peoples throughout the world. Millions upon millions of Americans attend churches, mosques and synagogues regularly. Millions of our youth volunteer their time assisting the elderly, the disabled and the poor in spirit not just in this country, but around the world. Therefore,

Living on purpose

Need to make a fresh start? I do. Tired of feeling stretched and stretched? I know I am. Trying to balance work, learning new skills, family responsibilities and other relationships while staying abreast of global, national and local events that impact on our lives is exhausting. And what’s even more daunting is our attempt to do this against a backdrop of racism, sexism and the threat of nuclear war. But as we stand on the shoulders of a New Year will we dare heed the call to move boldly in the direction of our dreams and possibilities? Or, will this be another year that we go through the motions of mediocrity and the mundane? My years of education and work with community organizations have informed my thinking in very simple but powerful ways. You are what you think. If you are not happy with the things that are repeatedly happening in your life, or with the direction in which your life is moving we must know that we alone possess the power to change it. But first you must understand that this is your life, that you live in a world of your own thoughts, and that you can Change your life by

By DAVID R. TOWIS6END

altering your thoughts whenever you want to. This is not to say it is easy, but it is possible. To take a new lease on life, to make positive changes, we must use our time on activities that nourish us, help us expand. Taking inventory on our personal relationships is crucial towards our evolution as new beings. Each day, life brings us a thousand little opportunities to choose the kind of life we want to live. Individually, we choose how we are going to experience the events that come into our lives, no matter who else is involved. Each of us is unique, sent forth with everything we need to live fully and freely and make our special contribution. But the truth is, many of us will live and die with our song unsung, our music trapped

there is a failure in this society to project the moral side of America. This country is guilty of spewing degradation and indecency as “the American way of life” throughout the world by means of satellite and the entertainment industry. This is not to say our nation should be under attack because of this. Nevertheless, many are saying America was attacked because of the American way of life. I say we were attacked because of our failure to understand not every country wants the American way of life in the form of McDonalds, Disney World, Playboy, MTV or the United States military. I believe America should withdraw our men and women from Saudi Arabia. I do not believe our government or the people of America would tolerate China basing several thousand troops in Cuba for any reason. We would fight. I, like many Americans, do not want to see innocent people die in this country or in Afghanistan. I believe America has a right to find and punish the perpetrators of the crimes that took place on Sept. 11. However, I also believe America should be sensitive to the wants of the less powerful people in this world. I believe America should get out of the Middle East, reexamine its foreign policy in that region, as well as re-examine its policy of not sitting down and talking with people they consider terrorist. If America would use her influence as the most powerful nation on Earth to hear the legitimate grievances of other nations or groups within a nation, American would truly be a nation under God.

in our throats because we never took the time to listen to our powerful inner voice begging and pleading us to move our lives forward. Life is consciousness. You stand where you are today, wherever that is, because of your consciousness. And there is only one way you can come to stand anywhere else—by changing your consciousness. Our greatest challenge is to remember that we are a people who refused to die — who labored for over 200 years to build this America. My life is lived each day to give tribute to that painful legacy by living my best life. No longer making excuses for playing host to the difficulties that I’ve come to live with. Even though we carry the heritage of our ancestors, we are not limited by their struggle, but empowered because of it. The natural laws of the universe respond to our thoughts and actions, and life becomes for us what we think it is. David R Townsend - Foundation consultant and life coach can be reached at317-283-2766 or via e-mail: drtownse9iupui.edu.

Thanks for tho exposure I would like to thank The Indianapolis Recorder for the great exposure and the excellence in which it represented me and my company, Tru Essence Designs, in the business section’s Black Business Profile. I appreciate all your efforts and wish you all the very best in this new year. Tina Williams Township trnstoo explains funding In the Dec. 21 Indianapolis Recorder, Amos Brown discussed a press release he received regarding the recent tax increase passed by the Washington Township Board. As the Washington Township Trustee I felt it might be helpful to offer you my perspective on the funding of township government. For the past seven years I have had the privilege and honor of being the township trustee, in those years I have worked with both Republican and Democrat members of the township board. Much has been accomplished in service to our township and those accomplishments should not be diminished by election year rhetoric. While there have been inevitable differences of opinion between the Republican and Democrat board members, it is important to note that these differences are based on personal conviction and philosophy. It is also important to note that at no time have the board members placed self-interest above community service. A substantial percentage of our annual township budget is allocated to the fire department. This shouldn’t be a surprise with 139 merit firefighters, vast amounts of equipment and seven facilities tb mkihtain. With the tragic events of Sept. 11,1 don’t believe anjydrte wbutd deny the value of our firefighters. In our most recent budget I asked the township board to substantially increase salaries for our township firefighters. I made this request so that the salaries the township pays are equal to those offered by the Indianapolis Fire Department. I made this request based on a sense of

fundamental fairness and also to facilitate the recruitment of minorities to our department. It is my goal to have the composition of the fire department more accurately reflect the composition of the community it serves. Within the poor relief budget, the township board approved an increase to the income guidelines. This change was largely semantic. It has been my policy from day one to evaluate each claim on a clear case by case basis regardless of income. It is the responsibility of the caseworkers to discuss with the clients any extenuating circumstances that would constitute an emergency situation. This in turn allows me, under the state statue, to issue a one-time waiver to assist the client. It has always been my objective to assist any Washington Township resident either directly from township funds, or by a referral to another social service agency. We are fortunate to have a wonderful working relationship with a number of social service agencies in our community. These partnerships allow us to stretch our dollars to ensure that no one who is eligible under the law is left out. For seven years we have been getting the maximum value out of every tax dollar. When comparing us to other townships in Marion County we have had the lowest tax rate of any merit fire department for many years. This has been accomplished even in the face of static tax assessments and the loss of a large portion of tax dollars to the city imposed TIF district on 96th Street. For the budget year 2002,1 presented two different resolutions on how to finance the budget. The first resolution would require the board to increase the tax rate. The second resolution would maintain the tax rate and use the operating balances to fund the budget. There are pros and cons to each resolution. It was the decision of the majority to approve the first resolution and raise the township tax rate thus enabling us to maintain healthy operating balances. The merits of the various funding formulas as they relate to township government can be debated without end. The real

bottom line in this issue is community service. Washington Township residents have every right to expect the highest level of service delivered in a fiscally responsible manner. I demand and deliver no less. If a resident should require fire/emergency services they can rest assured that they will be attended to by highly trained personnel equipped with the latest and best technology. If a resident requires emergency financial assistance, they should know that as their township trustee I am determined to see that all available assistance is provided. In responding to our clients, it has been my position throughout my term in office to look for ways to say yes rather than ways to say no. As your Washington Township trustee it has always been my attitude to serve all of my constituents to the very best of my ability. I believe my record strongly supports this claim. Gwen Horth Washington Township Trustee 5623 Carrollton Ave. 252-5230 Coverage helped raise funds Thank you so much for the coverage we received from The Recorder. The photographer, James Buntin, was very pleasant and professional to talk to. We raised enough money to help the J.T.V. Hill Center with families in need of services and we helped a family in my unit. Vincent Burke, IPD Detective Impressed with article I was greatly impressed and appreciative of the newspaper article Recorder staff writer Jim Buntin wrote with such heart- . felt warmth and expression. I’ve never experienced an article of this magnitude before. Thank you sincerely from Angela and me. I hope and wish for you a wonderful holiday season. Freddie Mae Brown

Your Voice

Mumburs of th# community toll somo of thoir Now Year resolutions “I’m going to try to read more this year. Last year I did quite a few Black authors; this year I’m going to do more of a rounded reading and try to hit some of Oprah’s BookClub.” Rena Brood us “I plan to try and make my businesses more successful and spend more quality time with my family, and also lose a few pounds.” Wibon Murkboa memorize more Scriptures.

“I would like to be more dedicated to my Bible reading and

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