Page CA August l4, 20l9
GUEST COLUMN a, lhnne seams
We killed God, family, community, .
and now that’s what’s killing us
We have discarded social institutions that have front of videosames and
indulge in I!
. . Violent fantaSies. They can View end- {C
helped people understand their value and place In lesspomography
orisotatethem-
the world for thousands of years. And their decline
1N LOVlNG
selves into ideological bubbles that
reinforce their desperate ideas.
Jack Demarest
is not just mirrored in the rise of mass shootings. The only antidoteto
this toncbrew t1
V is to en a e with other eo le in 11.
MForsgh ' Ecggis; fldfnthat h nce upon a time, you had sensible
question to ask is, what has ways thgatgare benefictafio, [human CA
, meanin . ou ew ou c an e . ns ea , o 1 1c1ans an - '
art); (frsoans fh d 0 w are e g Y kn h g d? I t d P “I ' d
flourishing. The only remedies are I:
6"“ _e m f) ‘5 Stu 1'35 an was had meaning because you pundits
ask all the wrong questions. the institutions that have satisfied d
jig WVOll‘erdlm Palm“ Farmer's 0f had a mom and a dad who Do we
have too many guns? (We the human condition over millennia: si
enca. e ove muSic, gammg told you so, a God who loved you, always have.)
Are Video games and family, community, and faith And 11
and had a Wealth 0f frlends around and a community that needed you. movres
too violent? (They always we are losing them. In fact, we are
the globe Once u on a time, if somethin have been.) Do we need more laws?
klllln em C
. . P g g th
Those that SUFVIVe and W111 forever happened to you, a significant num- .
(We have more than We can keep Human beings are not deSigned Zr
miss him include his parents, Dr. DIME“. ber of people would mourn your
track of.) for isolation. we require deep and Si
Lyle and Kate Demarest Lastinger; death — not only because you were
meaningful connection. we need g.
brother, Iaron Lastinger of Macon; a good person and a good Discarding
Institutions family and community we are des_ d,
grandparents, Patricia ‘Tisa’ Chamberlain of Altamont, friend, but also
because the No, the thing that has perate for life and the love of others.
C.
Tenn, Susan Demarest of Forsyth, and Jane Lastinger Community would suffer
fundamentally changed is We need people and institutions to B
of Snellville; Uncle James Demarest of Chattanooga, mlhout Your Presence
{1nd that we_ have (1.135?“ dFd those help us navigate the world, to help
us 51
Tenn, special friends Aiden Bleshoy, Trever Brooks, §k1115- NOW) the
W5" malor' regulating 505131 Insumtlons see that we have purpose,
to help us 0]
Sam Moore and Grayson Murdock. He also had a large “3’ OfPeoP1e can
barely that have helped People 111" understand right from wrong, and
0]
extended family across the United States who will miss Count on one hand
the ,derStfmd their value and Place to imbue us with a sense of moral St
him dearly. . number of people whose in this world for thousands of Clanty
that Will hold us up during the
He was redeceased b his randfather Livin ston ' espera 6 lines We ace.
p y g , g life would be. truly altered years Their decline 18 not lust d t
t' lll all f
M. ‘Rusty’ Demarest In, Great Uncle Jack Strauss and by the“
passmg' BELLOMO mlrmred m the use Of mass Why WOUId anyone be surprised
shootings, but more broadly
For the most part, it can
in a host of statistics that
cousin Ricardo Oses, that when we take away the foun-
Services were held Saturday, Aug. 10 at First Baptist
Church, Forsyth.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be
made in Jack’s memory to the Mary Persons High
School, Future Farmers of America. Please make
checks payable only to: MP FFA. Complete Memo line
with: lack Demarest. Drop off or mail to: MPHS 300
Montpelier Ave. Forsyth, GA 31029
Please visit www.monroecountymemorialchapel.com
to express tributes.
Monroe County Memorial Chapel had charge of ar-
rangements.
Robert Dumas
July A, 1957 August 2, 2010
Forsyth — Funeral services for Mr. Robert Lewis
Dumas, 62, will be Thursday, Aug. 8 at 1 pm. in the
Freeman Funeral Home Chapel, Forsyth. Burial will be
in the Rest Haven Memorial Cemetery, Forsyth.
Freeman Funeral Home, Forsyth was in charge of
arrangements.
Edward King
January 9, l948 -.Augusf 7, ZOlQ
'_ Forsyth - Funeral services for Mr. Edward James
“Pete” King, 71, will be Thursday, August 15 at 12 noon
in the Freeman Funeral Home Chapel, Forsyth. Burial
Forsyth City Cemetery.
' The family may be contacted at 267 Sharp St., For-
syth.
Freeman Funeral Home, Forsyth, was in charge of
arrangements.
Willie Joe Laster
June 25, lQ3Q - August K), 2019
. Forsyth Funeral services for Mr. Willie Joe Laster,
80, will be Saturday, August 17 at 12 noon at Saint Luke
AME. Church, Forsyth. Burial Rest Haven Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Friday, August 16 from 5-7 pm.
at Freeman Funeral Home.
The family request inlieu of flowers that donations be
made to American Heart Association.
Freeman Funeral Home, Forsyth, was in charge of
arrangements. .
“IT/tank] You
Thefamify ofthe [are Den. Raymond “513060” Shannon
gratefully acknowledges every act of kindness extended to us during the
illness
and death of our Dad, Grand Dad, Great Grand Dad, Brother, Uncle, Cousin
We thank God for every rememberance of you.
Thank you Pastor R. J. Whalley, Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church,
Program
Participants, Mt. Pleasant Association and Layman. Macon-Bibb EOC, Monroe
County Senior Center, Classmates of 84, 89, 90. other Churches, Family,
Friends, Neighbors and the wonderful Staff of Medical Center Navicenl
Health.
The Shannon Tamify
;i.‘iiii“.l‘I.‘fl.'iilk Miililiil‘. 3‘1 illll‘thl H“, H
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Marlin “nah/1
TOLL FREE
16003719341
t-rro: 58~’1470
Railroad (a Adair) ' liamnavilln, GA
Since 1898
117
Call your local Monroe County representative
Scott Harrell
47845643586
or toll free: soc-551-1102 ‘
econ CA 31208
3250 Vineviiie Ave. M
easily feel like no one cares
about you anymore. Your skills are
ubiquitous, you have no true com-
munity, and God doesn’t exist. So
what, you may ask, is exactly the
point?
We have created a society that now
offers almost none of the things that
make people truly happy. Family,
community, spiritual belonging
— these are the foundational and
primal building blocks of human
happiness, and they are rapidly dis-
appearing.
With the destruction of the family,
the church, and the community, the
reasons people have traditionally had
for their very existence are in danger
of receding into the past. And the
outcome is predictable: isolation, de-
pression, anxiety, despondency, drug
abuse, and death.
When we talk about gun violence,
just about no one talks about these
root causes. It is not as if we haven’t
had large numbers of powerful semi-
automatic weapons in this country
for many decades. In fact, when I
was in high school, my classmates
regularly kept rifles in their truck
gun racks in the school parking lot.
In light of these facts, the only
reveal an epidemic of despair.
For example, between 2000 and
2017, the rate of deaths due to drug
overdose increased 400 percent,
from 3 per 100,000 to 15 per 100,000.
The suicide rate has increased from
10.4 per 100,000 in 2000 to 14 per
100,000 in 2017. These horrific in-
creases have literally reduced the life
expectancy in the United States from
78.9 in 2014 to 78.6 in 2017.
These statistics mirror the death
of the family and the decline of
faith. Children born out of wedlock
’ increased from 20 percent in 1985 to
more than 40 percent in 2013, with
crime statistics tracking this trend
almost exactly. Church membership
declined from 70 percent in 1998
to 50 percent today. Taken together,
these statistics of despair demon—
strate what happens when people feel
they have no place, no purpose, and
no value in our world.
Inevitable Isolation
Technology exacerbates this phe-
nomenon by allowing and encourag—
ing us to isolate ourselves. Technol-
ogy allows people to live their lives
completely alone. People can sit in
dational social structures that
have allowed for the flourishing of
humanity, bad things will happen?
We all know very well what happens
when more and more children grow
up in single-parent homes. Increased
suicide, drug use, drop out, teen
pregnancy, and mental disorders.
We know what happens when
communities deteriorate. Isolation,
loneliness, and a decline in social
norms. And when we destroy the
church, the very institution that has
been our bedrock of values, moral-
ity, and redemption for thousands of
years? Despair, immorality, despera-
tion, and evil.
Combine all three, and we know
exactly what happens. An opioid
epidemic so severe that it has literally
reduced our average life expectancy.
A suicide rate that continues to climb
for almost all demographic groups.
Mass shootings.
Destroy the family, abandon the
community, raze the church to the
ground. What could go wrong?
Everything.
Thane Bellomo writes for The Fed- ‘7
eralist, where this celumn appeared
originally, at www.thefederalist.com.
and Friend. We truly appreciate each of you for whatever you did to console
us.
BANNED
Continued from Front
which means the convic-
tion will stay on his record
so he can never work in law
enforcement. Adams said
Miller has agreed to move
to Pennsylvania.
“Everyone in law enforce—
ment holds themselves to
a higher standard,” said
Adams. “When they break
that oath, the appropriate
punishment will be given.”
Miller had been placed on
leave after Ashlie Roberts,
33, of High Falls shared
audio on her cell phone of
Miller telling her he would
drop criminal charges
if she had sex with him.
Then sheriff Al Shackelford
called in the GBI to inves-
tigate. Miller had started
with the sheriff’s office as
a jailer in April 2018 and
had just begun working on
the road in July when the
incident happened.
Miller had arrested Rob—
erts for DUI, possession of
meth and no tag light on
the night of Friday, July 27.
The arrest came after Miller
pulled Roberts over in her
1992 Chevy S-10 on High
Falls Road around 10:22
pm. Miller’s report said
he pulled her over because
she had no tag light and
was weaving. Miller said he
smelled the slight odor of
alcohol on Roberts’ breath,
and she admitted having a
shot two hours before. She
blew a .125 on the breatha-
lyzer, above the legal limit
for DUI. Roberts also ad-
mitted having some meth
in her bra, and Miller put
(478) 992—0044
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or. 9;
her in the front seat of his
patrol car so his camera
could record her removing
the meth from her bra. She
Clay.
Shackelford said Miller,
who is married and has
two children, has worked
was taken to the Monroe for the Forsyth Police De—
County Jail and charged partment and the Forsyth
with possession of meth, County and Henry County
DUI and tag light violation, sheriff’s offices, and that
with a warning for not hav- nobody had anything bad
ing a tag to say about him.
Shackelford said Miller “I was shocked, very
called Roberts the next day, shocked,” said Shackelford.
Saturday, July 28, offering “He was quiet and thought
to work things out if they , he did a good job. There’s
could meet. When they not a flaw anywhere in his
met, Roberts recorded
record. [ForSyth police
the conversation as Miller chief] Eddie Harris wanted
told her he wanted sex in . him back, said he’d hire
exchange for dropping the him back in a minute. This
charges. is a shock It almost puts
Roberts first took her tears in your eyes.”
recording to investigative While the GBI investi-
reporter Randy Travis with gates Miller, Roberts is now
Fox 5 in Atlanta, where in the Fulton County Jail
she’s from. Travis came for violating her probation
to the sheriff’s office to with the DUI and drug
confront Miller with the charges.
tape as he showed up for Shackelford said he was
work That’s when Shackel— disappointed that Travis
ford learned of the tape and held onto the tape for a
Miller was sent home and week without letting them
soon relieved of his duties. know so they could act on
“We acted within the it. «
hour,” said Shackelford, “He knew for a week
who called in the GBI to and never said a word to
investigate along with the anyone,” said Shackelford.
sheriff’s office’s own inter- “I think it’s wrong.”
nal affairs officer, Michael
Otis Chamhh’ss jr.
June 13, 1938 JUIy 24, 2019
The family of Otis Chambliss Jr. wishes to express sincere
appreciation for all acts of love and kindness shown to us during
our time of bereavement. Special thanks to Rev. Nathaniel Brovin
and William Chapel Church family, Rev. Dave Wilcoxson and New
Piney Grove Baptist Church, Greenville Church, Rev. Richard
Chamblisss, Prophetess Johnnie M. Prater, Pruitt Healthcare, _
Coliseum Northside Hospital and Freeman Funeral'Home program
participants. loved ones, family and friends.
God bless you all,
rThe ChamEh'ss anJWafEerfamify
