The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana • Page 4

Opinion 4 Kokomo (Ind.) Tribune Monday, Oct. 14, 1991 Hate to see all the drive-ins closing John C. Wiles Managing editor Arden A. Draeger Publisher-general manager Stephen Elkins Advertising director Richard Schram Circulation director Celebrate today As we plunge deeper into the dark age of political correctness, Columbus Day seems increasingly an anachronism, a quaint contrivance, a celebration with nothing to celebrate. It was originally intended to commemorate a national, and at the time uncontentious, belief that the great explorer Christopher Columbus discovered America, thereby preparing the advance of a noble civilization.

Among sophisticates today, however, that statement is unbearably crude akin to a belief in pixies or phrenology. To them Columbus was a vulgar merchant, a glory hound not an explorer, a fop who didn't even know where he was going; and by no definition could such a blood-soaked imperialist be considered "great." Nor did he "discover" anything, the continent having been populated for thousands of years before he blundered into it. But discover means more than it also connotes exploiting a thing's potential, envisioning its possibilities and drawing them out. It is in this sense that Columbus discovered America, along with the brave men and women who followed him. Technology, industry, the institutions of individual freedom, both political and economic these gifts beyond price flowed from Columbus' discovery.

That is why most Americans continue to celebrate Columbus Day, which is today, and are right to do so. Stay on guard There's a great urge to write off nuclear danger entirely, now that an inverse arms race is at hand. The negotiators can barely keep up with Washington and Moscow's unilateral reductions in their arsenals. The wrench in the works is the Third World nuclear club: countries like China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and, of course, Iraq whose political maturity inspires little confidence. Now comes the news that back in the late 1970s Libya's radical leader Moammar Gadhafi, once dubbed a Looney Tune by Ronald Reagan, offered in effect to pay off New Delhi's foreign debt in exchange for nukes.

To their credit, the Indians declined the deal. But the story is still sobering. It's one more spur to improve safeguards against nuclear proliferation and to develop a workable missile defense. Readers' letters The last drive-in movie in New Jersey, which is just behind confusion on my list of favorite states, is closing. Believe it or not, that is significant.

The first drive-in movie in the country was in Camden, N.J. It opened, according to an Associated Press article that passed my way, 58 years ago. Second, the closing of Route 35 Drive-In in Hazlet Township, N.J., which will now become "a shopping mall with a 12-theater cineplex," is part of a trend toward a serious decline in drive- ins all over. The article said there once were 4,000 drive-ins nationwide. Now, there are only 900, and most of them are in the Sun Belt, where drive-ins can operate all year and there is no possibility of freezing to death while watching Thelma and Louise drive willy-nilly across the desert.

And those cineplexes in shopping malls are convenient. If the movie you are watching (like "Dead is boring, you can go through the next door and By Lewis Grizzard watch your choice of 11 other movies, if the usher with all the zits and the earring doesn't catch you. "Cineplex," by the way, is from the Latin phrase, "Cineplexus Milkdudius," which means marking up things like candy, popcorn and soft drinks about 9 million percent. I could go to the Alamo theater back home, pay a dime to get in and buy a candy bar, a bag of popcorn and a drink for an additional IS cents. Of course I didn't get to see anybody naked on the screen back then, but Randolph Scott the West of riff-raff was plenty of entertainment for me back then.

No wonder the drive-ins are closing. Who wants to have to get out of a car, hike a mile in the dark, tripping over speaker wires, in order to buy a Coke, which now costs what a six-pack of beer did 30 years ago? And I don't guess teenagers need drive-ins any more for the primary reason we went to drive- ins. That, of course, was to engage in some fair to partly cloudy petting. It rarely went past petting in those dflvs After you figured out hew to unsnap a bra with one hand in the dark, while engaged in a serious lip-lock, you were usually too tired and frustrated to try to take it any further. I guess kids today get a suite at The Ritz, or at least a room at Motel Sex, I mean Six.

But I have my mammaries. Memories. Who cared what was playing at the old drive-in? "Ben Didn't see the first chariot. nrlnrtowe in nw were too fogged up. "Hondo Trasho," a documentary about certain occult practices in other parts of the world? There likely was the opportunity to see a couple of topless tribeswomen, but I was too involved in my own practice of trying to get around the bases.

Second is about as far as I ever reached, but that was better thin watching Rock Hudson fake heterosexuality around Doris Day. And, soon, there probably won't be a single drive-in left and they are already teaching in school what it took me years to find out in the back seat of a 1987 Chevy. But I'm sort of glad that's the way I learned it. Sex education textbooks today probably don't mention a thing about explaining all those wrinkles in your clothes after watching, "The Glob That Ate Arkansas 77 at Saturday Night at the drive-in. (Grlssard Is a syndicated hunter columnist writing from Atlanta, Ga.) VHAT THIS COUNTRY 15 A pew eooo Note upsets local shopper Oct.

7, my sister-in-law, her daughter and I went to Kmart. When going up to the store a woman went over and put a note on the car next to mine, both being in handicapped spaces. Leaving the store, there was a note attached to mine asking "Why are you in a handicapped space? Too lazy to walk?" It upset me to find the note because I have a legal tag in my front driver's side window given to me because of my health. It also upset me that while I am shopping, people can mess around my car because there is no parking lot security. I called Kmart and an assistant manager told me at customer's request, they check cars parked in handicapped spaces with no tags or plates.

They do not stop people from putting flyers and notes on people's cars. I was told I should purchase the plate instead of using the tag. I have received notes before at Kmart, Phar-Mor and Wallmanns. The Wallmanns North manager was considerate. He called and apologized.

He is concerned about his customers. Violet Haworth Kokomo, Ind. Silver Springs a place of beauty A short distance east of Ocala, is a tourist area called Silver Springs. On the Silver River, glass bottom boats enable tourists to see through the clear water to the bottom, which at places where the springs foam up is as much as 83 feet down. Today the area belongs to the white man, but years ago it was the Indian's domain, and it is the only too familiar story of the white man fighting with the Indian and driving him from the land.

The Indians called the Silver Springs "Suaille-aha" or "sun- glinting water." Later the region was called "Timucua," as a part of Florida's Kingdom of the Sun, and Silver Springs was a sub- provinqe called Ocali. In 1528, 300 Spaniards led by Pamfillo de Narvawz entered the area seeking gold. This force was beaten back by "hostile tribes" the white man's term for Indians defending their homes. In May of 1539 Hernando de Soto at present day Tampa with 800 men, and he too headed for Ocali to find the supposed riches there. This force was also unsuccessful.

In the late 1600s other Indians began locating in the area. They were immigrants from states to the north, splinter groups from the Creek Confederacy. These Indians became Florida's Seminole Indians. In 1823 the Treaty of Moultrie Creek allotted certain lands to the Seminoles. But it was good land, desired by the whites, and soon Fort King was established near Silver Springs.

In 1835 the U.S. government sought to relocate the Seminoles to homes in the west, and Chief Arpeika led his Mikosuki tribe in revolt. In December, 1837, Col. Zachary Taylor led 1,100 men against Arpeika and 400 warriors at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, which resulted in a telling blow to the Indians. A short time before this, in December of 1835, Chief Osceola attacked Fort King.

When presented with a treaty paper the chief slashed it with his hunting knife. He was captured in 1837, and he died at Fort Moultrie, in early 1838. Between 1849 and 1854 Chief Arpeika, then nearly 100 years old, was again instrumental in organizing armed opposition to the advancement of the whites. But the outcome was inevitable and the Seminoles were finally beaten decisively. About half of the survivors were removed to the west, while the rest remained, more or less at peace.

In 1845, James Rogers bought the 60 acres around Silver Springs from the U.S. government for $1.25 per acre, and Chief Arpeika along with about 70 warriors and their families were evicted. When the last war with the Seminoles was concluded in 1858 the Indians were no longer in control of their beloved lands. But modern day Florida carries the memory and the proud heritage of the Seminole Indians. Seminole and Osceola counties are named for Chief Osceola and his people; Alachua County takes its name from another band of Seminoles; Tallahassee, the state capital, is named from a Muskogee word meaning "old town." Miami, Kissimmee, Myakka, Wakulla, Pensacola, and Ocala are all old Timucuan names.

The Silver Springs area is indeed a place of beauty, and like the Black Hills of South Dakota a sacred place for the Sioux Indians Silver Springs was a sacred place to the Indians living around the Silver River. And like the Black Hills, the Silver Springs area was taken from the Indians by force. The famous Midwestern Indian Chief Tecumseh summed it up when he said to Sir Isaac Brock on Aug. 14, 1812, describing his encounters with the white man: "We gave them forest clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave." Jeffrey A. Hatton Greentown, Ind.

Thanks to you, MDA gets $15,701.71 The Kokomo Fire Fighters Local 396 thanks the citizens of Kokomo and Howard County for supporting the recent Muscular Dystrophy "Fill-the-Boot" campaign. Through the money donated, everyone helped us achieve the No. 1 position in the 18-county area. This generous support, which has been given, for the past 17 years, is the reason why one of Kokomo's firefighters was selected to be a participant in the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy over the Labor Day weekend in Las Vegas. Although we may not be able to send another representative to the telethon, we can continue to help Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association with the support of the people of Kokomo and Howard County.

Thank you all again for the great total of $15,701.71. Thank you for allowing me to represent you and the more than 28,000 firefighters from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. Alfred John Ashburn Kokomo, Ind. Writer cites differences Concerning the column in the Oct. 5 Kokomo Tribune, entitled "Mormons have high ethics" by Michael McManus, the author calls the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints a denomination.

This would imply that the church is simply another denomination within Christendom. It is not. It is a church outside the realm of Christianity. There are many reasons why this is true. One of the primary reasons Mormonism is not Christian is because they have a different Jesus than the biblical Jesus, the one Christians worship.

Mormons believe God has a physical body and had sexual relations with his daughter, Mary, to produce the person they call Jesus. They further believe that he was created as a spirit brother of Lucifer before his earthly life. This belief alone sets them apart from Christianity. Mormons have attacked Bible- believing churches beginning with their prophet, Joseph Smith. He said that, according to divine revelation, all churches were wrong and an abomination to God and that total apostasy had occured.

He proceeded to restore the true church. Jesus said the gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church (Matt. History substantiates this. An entity that has not apostatized cannot be restored. However, in recent years, they have attempted to pose as Christians, proclaiming another Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Mormon tells of an ancient civilization that alledgedly existed on the North American continent. It relates in great detail, the people, animals, and rivers that archaeology has never confirmed. As far as the history being translated from golden plates by Joseph Smith is concerned, it was he alone who reported the existence of the plates. No one else ever saw them. The Mormons place their trust in a man who turned out to be a false prophet according to the biblical definition.

The Mormon missionary's goal is not to proclaim the good news, the message of salvation that Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and that believing and trusting in him, sin may be forgiven and eternal life inherited. Rather, they are on a mission to get people to believe that the book of Mormon is true and to secure new members for their church. Mormons teach that God was once a man who had lived on some other planet and, through obeying the gospel, lived and died and was exalted to godhood. They believe and teach that we can likewise become gods through obedience to the peculiar doctrines. This false teaching is as old as the hills.

Satan used the same technique on Eve when he told her she could become like God. Mormons believe there are many gods, in spite of the fact that not only the Bible refutes this, but their own Book of Mormon emphatically declares there is but one God. As far as the primary thrust of the article is concerned, namely that Mormons have higher ethics than Christians, statistics show otherwise. Their morality is less than claimed. Their "Doctrines of Vol.

1, p. 236 states, "We are, notwithstanding our weaknesses, the best people in the A survey performed by Tim B. Heaton, a sociologist at their own Bringham Young University, has found that "nearly 60 percent of the Mormon women nave had sexual intercourse before marriage. while similar percentage of Mormon and white Protestant fundamentalist women have had premarital sex, the increase in premarital sex has been greater among Mormon women than any other religious group," Heaton said. According to Heaton's report, it is clear that Mormons are just what the Bible claims all men to be: sinners in need of God's grace through Jesus Christ.

Chester Hanna Kokomo, Ind. Last thing they need is prison I am opposed to drug use, including alcohol and tobacco, but if the surgeon general is correct that nicotine is more addictive than heroine or cocaine, and alcohol is our most abused drug, causing more crime and deaths, than are we not already a nation of drug abusers? Thousands die every year, not only from alcohol on the highways, but from smoking and drinking-caused diseases. A readers' letter some time back said at least her smoking did not cause persons to lie in hospitals in a vegetative state as other drugs do. On the contrary, a visit to hospital wards where people of all ages lie terminally ill, emaciated, and at times in a vegetative state because of pain medication, would enlighten anyone to those hazards. There has been much talk of legalizing drugs, to which I am opposed.

I do believe in decriminalization. People who are addicted, whether to alcohol, smoking or so-called hard drugs, need detoxification along with drug programs. Trinity House at Saint Joseph Hospital Health Center with weekly after case groups is more likely to help over the long haul. And for those who need longer term programs, we need more halfway nouses, where work programs are stressed and trades are learned. There, they will have structure and a somewhat sheltered environment, so they can find the self-esteem necessary to become free of all drug use.

The last thing they need is prisons, where they are warehoused, brutalized and sodomized, unable to support their families, and where drugs abound for the right price. With some of our leading citizens haying serious drug problems, I think they would be a lit- tle embarrassed putting all these people in jail for public intoxication or driving under the influence. But we do have to keep our jail crammed, don't we, so we can spend $30 million or more for new jail facilities? Betty ZaneDarland Kokomo, Ind. Hats off to judge with compassion I commend Judge Eugene Chipmon Sr. of Plymouth, for his stand against delinquent dads who won't pay or are behind in child support.

His compassion should be copied by careless fathers and the judicial system that only cares when election time is near. We need more judges who will look into the father's means of existence. They will find that men never do without! They are even allowed to start new families with higher income and still mom's hands are tied because no one cares. She may even get support payments lowered because she has to work two or more jobs to make up for lack of adequate child support and visitation rights from delinquent fathers. Unless we acquire more compassionate judges like Chipmon, it won't be a winning situation for those needy children until God's judgment falls upon those careless individuals.

Darletha Barbarv Kokomo, Ind. Reader letter guidelines Readers letters is your space to comment on nearly any topic of general interest to the public. The shorter the letter, the sooner it can be published. The best guideline is 250 words or less. The Kokomo Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters for publication, grammar, brevity, good taste and libel.

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Please include a daytime telephone number so we can verify authorship. Address letters to: Readers; letters, Kokomo Tribune Newsroom, 300 N. Union Kokomo, Ind. 46901..