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