Page A 4 JJnrtlanb (Obscrucr lune 3 0 , 2 0 0 4 O pinion Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of The Portland Observer A Different View of Patriotism on Independance Day Images often doesn’t match the real picture Independence Day. It has m ade m e think about how the im age we see often does not m atch up to the real picture. Take President R onald R eagan. by B ernice P owei . i , J ackson I really do sym pathize w ith A s w e ap p ro ach In d e p e n M rs. Reagan, w ho has lost a life dence D ay, I'v e been rem em partn er and has had to deal w ith bering Frederick D o u g lass’ fa an illness w hich is devastating m ous speech asking w hat the m illions o f A m erican fam ilies, Fourth o f July could m ean to m ost o f w hom do not have the Bernice Powell Jackson slaves. D ouglass, an abolitionist w e a lth o r g o v e rn m e n ta l re orato r and h im self a run-aw ay sources that she has had to help the R eagan fam ily m em bers and slave, pointed out the irony o f a h er cope w ith this dreadful d is friends w ho have lost a h u s slaveholding nation celebrating ease. I really do sym pathize with band, father, brother and friend. Apprenticeship Opportunities for Painter I Decorator and Traffic Control (Highway Striper) Painter Union jobs starting at $ J 0/hour. Benefits when eligible. Accepting applications for placement as jobs become available. Most work opportunities will be in the summer months. Earn while you learn. Weekly classes required. Minimum Program Requirements: Age: 17 or older for Painter/Deeorator, 18 or older for Traffic Control Painter Education: Must have high school diploma or GED Women and minorities encouraged to apply. To request an information packet: Phone 503-287-4856 or email to rtC@pattt.org. But, for a w hole w eek, I found it d ifficu lt to turn on the telev i sion o r read new spapers w hich uncritically praised P resident R eagan o v er and o v e r again. It began to be a bit m uch for me. Y es, he did stand at the Berlin W all and gave a riveting speech. Y es, he did force C om m unism to change. But had he done som ething to tear dow n o u r ow n w all against those w ho w ere dying w ith H IV / A ID S o r force us to look at our ow n fears and o u r ow n system of denial and finger-pointing, we m ight have saved m illions o f A m erican lives. He d id n ’t face dow n the racist regim es o f South A frica and R hodesia and ask them to tear dow n th eir w alls o f apartheid that denied the right to vote and basic hum an rights. He illegally supported the dic tato rsh ip s in El S alv ad o r and G uatem ala w hich w ere resp o n sible for the deaths and d isa p pearance o f thousands o f their ow n citizens. For the poor and A m e r ic a n s o f c o lo r , he sc a p e g o a te d and ste re o ty p e d single m others on public assis tan ce, c a llin g them “ w elfare qu een s” and accused them o f driving C adillacs w hile receiv ing food stam ps. He tried to have ketchup d e clared a vegetable in the school lunch program fo rp o o rc h ild re n in A m erica. H e refused to re SPCMAlCQLUMN by Part 4: STRESS: How Chiropractic can help ease life's day*to*day pressures. Stress causes high blood pressure, w hich in tu rn is a m ajor cause o f strokes and heart disease. It can lead to asthma, a rth ritis , insom nia and m igraines. It im pairs the im m u n e system a nd is M o d e rn C h ir o p ra c tic care can help de-stress your body. By helping your nervous system work more sm oothly, C h iro p ra c tic helps assure th a t a ll y o u r body fu n c tio n s (in c lu d in g the ones negatively affected by stress) are working properly. W h a t’s more, today'sChiropractors can also help you w ith natural relaxation techniques such as yoga, massage and visualization. For less stress, or more answers to any questions you m ight have about your h e a lth , y o u 'll fin d th a t C h ir o p ra c tic is o fte n the answ er. C a ll us fo r an appointm ent today. estim ated to cost the n a tio n over $100 b illio n each year in lo s t Flowers' Chiropractic Care p r o d u c t iv it y , 2124 N.E. Hancock Street Portland, Oregon 97212 absenteeism and h ea lth care costs. T h a t's p re tty serious. Phone: (503) 287-5504 J udge G reg M athis As the Bush adm inis tration continues to tell the country that the eco nom ic good tim es are back again, m illions o f A m ericans, particularly African-Americans, fail to feel the im pact o f the eco nomic recovery. W e are told that over I m illion people have been hired since January, yet unem ploym ent and econom ic despair continues to plague A fri can-A m ericans d isp ro p o rtio n ately. The fact is, even with over I million new jobs, still over I mil lion less people are working than were working when Bush took office. The unem ploym ent rate for blacks is currently 10 per cent, nearly tw ice the rate of whites. The unem ploym ent rate for black teenagers is over 30 percent nationally and, in New STD Clinic f Get tested. W Get treated. Stay healthy. HIV Community Test Site York City, half o f all black men are unemployed. C le a rly we have not felt the impact o f this so- called surge in hiring that is al legedly occurring th ro u g h o u t the country. Additionally, many o f the newly em ployed are making lower wages, all the while paying higher prices for consum er goods and services. A ccording to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, jobs that once paid enough to sustain a family now places that same family in poverty. The EPI re ports that w ages today are 24 percent lower in value than they were in 1979. Meaning that w ork ers have less buying pow er than they did in past years. W hile w ages have been stag nant, prices for food, gas, col lege tuition, and healthcare have skyrocketed. C ertainly the in crease in the cost o f life’s essen tials is another reason we can ’t feel the so-called econom ic re covery. Any real econom ic re covery will have to be accom pa nied by efforts to keep gas prices down, increase wages, and get healthcare costs under control. Lastly, we must write our state and federal elected officials and dem and a m assive training and em ploym ent program that will address the disproportionate rate o f unem ploym ent facing black youths and black men. Until we see real jobs paying real wages we w on’t feel any real econom ic recovery. Judge Greg Mathis is chair man o f the Rainbow PUSH-Ex- cel hoard and a national board member o f the Southern Chris tian Leadership Conference. 4747 NE Martin Luther king, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 Charles H. Washington EDiTomMichael Leighton R e p o r t e r : Jaymee R. Cuti D istribution M anager : M ark W ashington C reative D irector : Paul N eufeldt O eeice M anager : Kathy Linder E i > itor - in -C hiee , P ublisher : 50 3-3 8 8-3775 428 SW Stark St.. &h Floor Downtown Portland Call for an appointment Limited walk-ins Sliding-scale fee inability to pay MulUiomah County i&ealth Department The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. 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NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer P0Box3137, Portland, 0R97208 Periodical Postage paid In Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year 503-288-0033 'r'" P o rtian i* (P becrnrr Call 503-288-0033 or email Bernice Powell Jackson is the executive minister fo r ju s tice and witness ministries fo r the United Church o f Christ. USPS 959-680 No one turned away for Advertise u ilh diversity in the R epublican Party platform in 1980. T h e im a g e s w e h o ld as A m e ric a n s o fte n ju s t d o n ’t m a tc h up w ith the re a litie s. O n th is In d e p e n d e n c e D ay, p e rh a p s w e sh o u ld re a lly try lo o k in g a ro u n d us. T h a t w o u ld tru ly be p a trio tism . 11 Portlanb (0bscrucr Established 1 9 7 0 503-388-3700 G e t th e word out. I a w a re , w a s th e site o f the m u rd e r o f th re e civ il rig h ts w o rk e rs d u rin g the 196 4 F re e dom S u m m e r. H e c h o se the w o rd s “ s ta te s ’ rig h ts” in th at M ississip p i sp e e c h w h ic h w as the c o d e w o rd te rm u se d by a rd e n t s e g re g a tio n is ts d u rin g the c iv il rig h ts stru g g le . He w as not m oved by the plight o f po o r w orking A m eri cans w hen he refused to raise the m inim um w age during the Because of less buying power, wages and jobs An ongoing series of questioni and answers about America's natural heaing profession I have a very stressful job. H ow can Chiropractic help me? / really do sympathize with the Reagan family members and friends who have lost a husband, father, brother and friend. But, fo r a whole week, I found it difficult to turn on the television or read newspapers which uncritically praised President Reagan over and over again. Why We Don’t Feel the Economic Recovery? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ THE_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 hear a lot about acres* these days. Just how serious is it? fute his past opposition to the eight years o f his ad m in istra federal C ivil Right A ct o r to tion. He slashed the budget o f C alifornia fair housing law s, in the federal equal E m ploym ent w hich he accused blacks o f ju st O p p o rtu n ity C o m m issio n as w anting to m ake trouble, w hile w om en w ere entering the w ork having no intentions o f m oving force in u n p recedented n u m into w hite neighborhoods. bers. H e b e g in his c a m p a ig n fo r He did not hear the pleas o f the p re sid e n c y in the to w n o f m illions o f A m erican w om en to P h ila d e lp h ia , M iss., w hich A f ratify the Equal R ights A m en d ric a n A m e ric a n s w e re w ell m ent w hen he erased that from FAX 503-288-0015 ads(f' port kiiulobseivcr.com I