TO GRADUATES-THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME!

Monday, May 20th, 2024

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

TO GRADUATES-THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME!

 Students all over America are graduating this  week from kindergarten, grade school, high school, college and graduate schools. And there is always a commencement speaker. Most of you will never give a commencement address. But as a former Louisiana public official, I was called on to give a number of them in years past.  And guess what?  I don’t remember any of the advice that I gave to these newly minted graduates.

 In the 80s, when I served as Louisiana Secretary of State, I was asked to be the commencement speaker at two Louisiana universities.  In 1983, I spoke to the graduating class at Northwestern University in Natchitoches.  Future pro bowler and Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert was in that class and heard whatever words of wisdom I had to offer.

 In 1985, I was called to share advice and admonitions with the graduating class of Louisiana Tech in Ruston, which included future NBA all-star Karl Malone.  I’m sure my challenges to “work hard… change the world… and follow your dreams,” came across as some old guy who was over the hill giving advice to graduates who were primarily worried about getting a job and paying off their college loans.

 So what practical advice can I share that might make a real difference in the lives of those graduating today?  Instead of listing tired platitudes, I suggest you let common sense that can be carried and nourished through the years be your guide.

 At this stage of your lives, you are not all that special.  No, you are not the future.  At least, not yet. You have been given a toolbox.  Hopefully, you had teachers who opened your eyes to possibilities of what has meaning for you. But now it’s up to you to use these tools to make your own path.  Here is my short list of thoughts that should come from your toolbox.

 First, recognize that there really haven’t been that many good ideas.  If we’re all so smart, then why were more people killed in this past century than in every other century combined?  I submit that the only really good idea was the Sermon on the Mount.  I hope you have read it, but if not, you should. It’s simply a challenge to live a life that is free from hypocrisy, full of love and grace, and full of wisdom and discernment. Pretty simple stuff. Maybe one of you will come up with another good idea in future years, and then we’ll have two good ideas.

 Second, forget the Code of Hammurabi.  Remember the old axiom, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?”  Vengeance gets you nowhere.  I had my run in with the federal government, and I was pretty bitter for years.  But reprisal is a waste of time.  Try maintaining a loving family and good friends.  And keeping your health. All the rest is small stuff.

Now here is a short list of the small stuff that does make sense.

 Don’t get swallowed up by your computer. It’s actually a pretty neat world out there, full of many choices, so use your time to soak it all in.

 Keep music in your life.  And remember all you Cajuns and Rednecks like me: all American music – jazz, rock and roll, swing, the Beatles, Broadway, and many other forms – was derived from the blues that came right out of this deepest of the deep southern states.

 Cigarettes?  I like author Kurt Vonnegut’s description.  A fire at one end and a fool at the other.

 Read and keep plenty of books.  Have a pencil handy to underline something profound that you might go back to and read again.  And keep your books.  Mine are old friends.

 And that’s about all the small stuff I can pass on for now.  So snap a baccalaureate selfie, toss your graduation cap into the air, and as you proceed, make a commitment to keep adding to your toolbox. Remember that the road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places. So stay the course.  Reach for the moon.  But don’t miss out on all the small pleasures that surround you every day.  Enough said.  Good luck with your life.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. 

 

 

GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT!

Monday, May 13th, 2024

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT!

If you want to witness political favoritism and inside political wheeling and dealing  at its worst, just witness the mess that has been created by the legislature as well as federal judges in Louisiana.  Dysfunctional politics is about the best way to describe what is happening in the legally required process of reapportioning congressional districts in the Bayou state.

The legislature, by federal law, has to reapportion each congressional district every 10 years. It makes sense, because populations change, and each congressional district should be evenly balanced. So the ball was thrown to the Louisiana legislature and the new governor to come up with a reapportionment plan to take place in the fall elections. And boy did everyone in the process make a mess of the whole effort.

The legislative struggle apparently had two priorities. One to protect current congressmen so they can be easily re-elected. But with one exception. The governor has had a falling out with Republican congressman Garrett Graves, whose district is centered in the Baton Rouge area.  Under the guise of creating a new minority district, the legislature shaped a new territory that meanders all over the state and presents an uphill fight for Graves to be reelected. 

A three judge federal panel voted two to one to throw out the new reapportionment proposal, saying it was drawn strictly to create a minority district. The judges were right. What the legislature did was to create a district that connected predominantly black neighborhoods in and around Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Alexandria, Natchitoches, and Shreveport.  It’s dead wrong to have a district that winds like a snake all over the state.

As syndicated columnist Quinn Hiller wrote this week: “For decades, courts have ruled, with good reason, that district shapes should be reasonably compact, and contiguous, except to take into account  geographical features, such as rivers or mountain ranges, and the districts, where possible, should not divide natural “communities of interest” such as common cultural heritage, or shaped economic bases.”

Having run in statewide elections  on six different occasions, I know from personal experience that voters in northeast Louisiana often have different views on a variety of state issues compared to voters in Cajun country. New Orleans is a world all of its own. Each area of the state should be able to elect a congressman who reflects and votes the views of people that have some common interest. Right now, that’s not the case in the Bayou state.

And just who is the minority that needs to be represented anyway?  African-Americans make up approximately 30% of the state’s population. The fastest growing population groups in the state are Hispanics and citizens with a Vietnamese background. Should they not have some type of representation as a group?  Should legislators be allowed to draw congressional districts that twist like a snake all across the state?

Here’s what we have in Louisiana right now.  In elections, people choose their legislators. But because of how reapportionment has worked, , legislators choose their voters or choose the voters for their favorite congressman.

Just what are the alternatives? What are other progressive states doing to transfer the power of redistricting to a system less driven by self-interest? Fourteen states have assigned the task to officials or panels outside the state legislature. And independent redistricting wears the cloak of good-government reform, as long as a consensus can be built on just who will serve on such panels.

.One idea would be to create a Louisiana Fair Reapportionment Practices Commission. Let nominations for its members come from the legislature, the Supreme Court, the good government groups like PAR and CABL, the various college boards, and perhaps a key business group or two. Then put all the submissions in a hat, and draw out eleven names to serve as members to begin their work right after the new census data is made available.

The goal for such a commission is simple – put the important issue of redistricting into the hands of less vested interests instead of those who in the past have been allowed to define the terms of their own cartel. Simply put, it’s just wrong for legislators to draw these districts and then run in them. There needs to be a better way.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his weekly podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.
 
 

I’M TOO YOUNG TO BE EIGHTY FOUR!

May 6^th, 2024

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

I’M TOO YOUNG TO BE EIGHTY FOUR!

 

       Here is a message I received from one of my grandkids this week. “Hey JB, it’s your birthday, and you just turned 84, I know you will live for many, many more.“  I sure hope I do. I understand that I’m getting a bit older and that I cannot ignore life’s ending.  But I’m not going to set around like some Shakespeare character thinking about death. I would hope it is much more productive for me to make the most of my current state in life.  Play the cards we are delt. Then anticipate a lingering good ride. 

 

I have seven grandchildren in all, but only two live in Louisiana. The others are spread across the country from one coast to the other.  My four children pay me a little attention, but the grandkids are special, and teach me as much as I share with them. There’s a Neil Young song that says," It's better to burn out then to fade away.” But perhaps  it’s better to burn slow and see your grandchildren as one gets older.

 

       I do miss my children, as it has become harder to travel.  Yes, I think I’ve been a pretty good father. Perhaps less in the early years, when I was busy jousting with windmills in a quixotic and fruitless effort to make a difference as a public official. But it was a waste. It made little difference. And now they’re caught up in their own lives with not enough time to spend with their patriarch. 

 

There are tidbits of inspiration that have come from my relationship with my children, particularly when they were young.  I’d like to think that I have lived part of my adult life as a stalled adolescent but contentedly stalled.  In fact, it’s helpful as a writer who sees events through the eyes of a child. Children see things without presuppositions. They are unmeasured by experience. 

 

And one more thing I keep in mind. I’ve learned that if you want to be a success in your chosen profession, don’t become consumed.  Life is too short. Remember what Oscar Wilde admonished. 

 

Put your genius into your life, but only your talent into your work.

 

       There is so much uncertainty over a lifetime, often too many choices to be made, and forks in the road that can be life changing. We all can speculate on decisions we have made in the past. But such aera reviews are little more than glancing thoughts for me. I generally find that second guessing is vastly overrated. 

 

I was a big Billy Joe Shaver fan before he passed away too early in life. We were friends, and I attended many of his concerts. He told me don’t worry about how life ends, and he just assumed he was going to live forever. And that was the name of his best-known song.

 

I’m gonna live forever

I’m gonna to cross that river

I’m gonna to catch tomorrow now

 

Nabokov even sets the speed of life that is moving so quickly, too quickly. Forty-five hundred heartbeats an hour. I would hate to think that my later years are part of some runaway train.

 

So if I’m winding down at close to 5000 heartbeats an hour, the question simply put is how many heartbeats do I have left? I want to make the most of the time and not live wasted days.  What’s the Bruce Springsteen song?

 

How many summers staring at nothin’?

How many days are lost in vain?

Who’s counting now these last remaining years?

How many minutes do we have ahead?

Wasted days

Wasted days

 

No one knows how many heartbeats I have remaining, and medical professionals are of little help. Although one needs more medical care as they age, I find doctors will offer too many options. I’m my own best decision maker. That’s why I’m not eating as much, probably take way too many vitamin pills, work out on a regular basis and get more than enough sleep. If the hourglass has been apportioned for me, I’m going to try my best to control my own destiny.

 

       I guess I can sum up my search for a balance life in country singer Toby Keith’s song about dodging death, “Don’t let the Old Man In.”  I’m sure going to try. 

 

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his weekly podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.