America IS beautiful

I attended junior high and high school in Lake Mills—class of ’68—and for that I’m grateful. I want to relate some pleasant thoughts about my hometown. Those formative, “sensible” years in Lake Mills have a great deal to do with how I react to many of the issues we face daily.
Dad (Lewy) was a Lutheran minister serving the Vinje and Beaver Creek Lutheran congregations. He was also a disabled World War II U.S. Navy veteran. Dad was the nicest person I’ve ever known, and I think most who knew him would agree. He was a patient and gentle soul who struggled for years with a crippling form of multiple sclerosis—never complaining.
We received an excellent education from a faculty that took their jobs seriously. And as with any class, lifetime friends were made. Even though our classmates moved far apart geographically, it seems many of us can come together and pick up right where we left off the last time. The Class of ’68 has had a reunion almost every five years since graduation. Last year we gathered for our “55th” and I assure all you youngsters under age 70, it was the best reunion ever.
We lived on North Grant Street—Dad, Mom (Dorothy), and sisters Becky and Kathy. My mother referred to the “kids” on Grant Street and the nearby streets as “the Grant Street gang”—bicycles, swimming pool, water balloons, firecrackers, sleds, and snowballs (with some other stuff in later years) were important parts of our seasonal entertainment. Who could forget the “Krazy Dayz” celebration, which I believe matured and grew into “July Jubilee”? And my memory of the “huge fire on Main Street” will be forever vivid.
I’m thankful I was brought up in an atmosphere of Christian faith, and in a community for which that was a value. And I remember when Dad gave the Memorial Day address in Arlington Park. I wish I’d shared with him how proud I was sitting there listening—probably as a member of the band—but that kind of personal sharing wasn’t then part of me—and I struggle with it still. I’m impressed with the way the park has been preserved as an important and impressive corner of honor for our veterans. The ability, and opportunity, to express appreciation and patriotism, is something I cherish.
I’ve “kept track” of Lake Mills by subscribing to the Graphic for over 50 years, and a few years ago, Terry Gasper asked if I would provide conservative commentary for the Opinion page. That was after reading an article I’d written that he probably disagreed with. But, he believed newspapers should present competing, even adversarial, opinions. I was honored by his request. Terry would be proud that the Graphic was honored this past February by the Iowa Newspaper Association. They brought home the “Best Editorial Page” award for their class of weekly newspapers. A wonderful success for the Gasper family.
As I’ve grown older, those experiences, and many lessons learned, helped define my reaction to complex issues we deal with every day. And my critical youthful idealism matured into a sincere appreciation for our country. I now understand that our government suffers from the same human flaws and imperfections as do those we’ve elected to govern. Thankfully, America’s Founders gave us a form of government best suited to deal with tough issues and our leaders’ imperfections and flaws—a “representative republic,” with its many checks and balances.
Because of those inevitable flaws in government and its citizens, we’ll always find reason for disappointment. There are long developing “millstones” around the neck of this great country. Before we can deal with those challenges, we should better understand them, their causes, and related threats. We must be determined to do the hard work necessary to reject and redirect the misguided efforts to overthrow this great country and society, however flawed it may be. And let’s stop ignoring the methods for doing so which have been provided by our Constitution.
I ask God to bless the United States, and to watch over us all, as we seek to achieve the “liberty and justice for all” intended by the founding ideals of the United States. America IS beautiful, not just for what it might be, but for what it is, despite the obstacles and mistakes along the way.

Lake Mills Graphic

204 N. Mill Street
Lake Mills, IA 50450

Office Number: (641) 592-4222
Fax Number: (641) 592-6397

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