Sen. Chip Rogers- The People who Make our Country Great

Chip Rogers is the State Senator for District 21. You can call him at (770) 516-0543 or fax him at (770) 936-1967. You may also e-mail Chip at ChipRogers2@comcast.net. Chip serves on The TowneLaker Community Board.

by State Senator Chip Rogers

Government, government, government. Everywhere we turn these days, someone wants government to take care of his or her needs.

Dishonest corporate executives rip-off billions of dollars from their shareholders and then use influence with Congress to receive taxpayer subsidized bailouts. Consumers who decided to take an adjustable mortgage and purchased a home for far more than they can afford, now want the government to step in and force their lender to renegotiate a contract. One Presidential candidate claims some mythical “right” to universal healthcare, while the other pitches more mortgage bailouts.

It’s all enough to make freedom-loving Americans throw up their arms in disgust. Surely Madison, Jefferson and Washington are turning over in their graves!

Yet, there is hope.

America, thankfully, is not about government. It’s about people. The most resourceful, diverse, moral and giving people on earth.

If we look at our own community, we see true American heroes all around us. Heroes like Lynne Saunders and everyone at Papa’s Pantry.

Papa’s Pantry started a few years ago out of Lynne’s basement, as an effort to meet the most basic food needs of those in our community. Today, the ministry distributes food and clothing, helps with energy bills and rent assistance, helps with financial planning and even job placement assistance. All of this is done through the love of a volunteer, not a spiritless government bureaucracy.

Heroes like Stephen Hendrix and Dick Hall, who help lead substance abuse recovery efforts here in Cherokee County. With unemployment and foreclosures on the rise and the stock market along with home values on the decline, people are turning to drugs and alcohol. A terrible mistake, but fortunately there are real people who care enough to help.

Heroes like Stacy Walls, J.R. Clark and all the good people with the Woodstock Jaycees. We are fortunate to have a number of great civic organizations in Cherokee County. The Woodstock Jaycees are just one of the many who continuously work to help others. Thanksgiving and Christmas assistance provided by the Jaycees brings a lot of smiles to some very deserving children.

Heroes like Cindy O’Leary, Deborah Durham, Dr. Mike Litrel and all the incredible staff at the HOPE Center. Perhaps there is no greater service than the service of saving lives, which is exactly what happens each week at the HOPE Center.

Heroes like Lt. Colonel Robert Ledee of Woodstock, who after serving his nation as a highly decorated Marine pilot, is now leading a national effort to supply protective products to our troops serving in combat. To date, his organization, www. armor4troops.org, has delivered almost 30,000 pair of protective anti-ballistic eyewear to our soldiers.

Heroes like Joe Drewry who leads the local effort to support grandparents raising grandchildren. The numbers of grandparents who are now stepping-up again to help raise their grandchildren is far more than most people think. Every child deserves a mom and a dad, but when that can’t happen, these grandparents are making a difference. And we are all better off because of their efforts.

Heroes like Mary Migliaro, Irene Butcher and Amy Economopoulos at the Cherokee Child Advocacy Council. These ladies and many others in our community serve the purpose of helping abused and neglected children in north metro Atlanta. Most assuredly, God smiles on their efforts.

Heroes in America are found in every community and every walk of life. There are so many of them right in our own neighborhoods that we often fail to recognize them.

This place in history will be marked by a pessimism rarely seen in the United States. A time when we questioned whether the goodness of Americans was enough to sustain us or if we must succumb to the dependency of government.

We should never forget that Americans have given more financial assistance, more food, more medical care and services, more spiritual support and guidance to the needy around the world, than any other nation in history. We have sacrificed more American lives in the pursuit of freedom for others than all the other countries of the world combined.