V-Gram 41

April 21, 1997

Attitudes

The offices situated in the brand new building of the Grand Forks Herald have burned down. The machinery is under water. Lost is 118 years of archive material, what journalists call "the morgue." But the Grand Forks Herald did not miss a beat. The editors worked in the school house of Manvel, ND, (a near-by town), printed the paper in St. Paul, Minnesota, and flew in the copies to serve their hard-hit community. Behold America The Great.

My contemplation of this and other stories of American know-how, can-do, and downright heroism was interrupted by a news brief. Apparently, Repr. Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Illinois was disgusted by the suggestion that people who dwell in public housing should perform eight (8) hours of community service per month to keep it clean. "This is treating them as if they had committed a crime," Repr. Jackson charged. Behold America the sick.

Commenting on their loss, the publisher of the Grand Forks Herald said, "Nothing will ever be the same again." That certainly seems the sad truth for many in North Dakota and Minnesota. But, in another sense, much will be the same all 'round. Mr. Jackson will likely continue his habit to complain and protest. The people of Grand Forks will continue to cope with any challenge placed in their path. This country will continue to accommodate the ones who won't, and celebrate the ones who always, always do.