Greetings. This is my first post here at this forum and appreciate the opportunity to speak some things that have been on my heart and mind in regards to this alcohol referendum issue. To preface my remarks, I am not currently a resident of Fannin - was for approx 7 years before moving to a neighboring county that recently went through the same deal. I would also consider myself a devoted follower of Christ. I do not align myself with any one denomination but simply seek to love God and love others.

Why am I writing? From a distance, I have loosely kept up with the ongoing debate through means such as this forum, newspaper ads/articles, Fannin residents, billboards, blogs, websites, etc., etc.- to pour or not to pour - that is the question. In my nearly 10 years of living here I have never seen such an issue raise such ire between the local church and the community at large. I hear the points from both sides and can at times see both sides of things. Me, personally, I really don't care how things turn out. I wish that there were some sort of win/win option for all sides but then reality sets in.

I know that through this debate that things probably have been heated at times and those of you who fall on the side of being for this referendum have walked away with a bad taste in your mouth towards either 'organized religion', 'Baptists', 'Christians', etc. ,etc. Some of you in my estimation have been mistreated and looked down upon or demeaned and for that and on behalf of the church I want to sincerely apologize to you. It concerns me in times like this to see the church get so riled up over what I think is a relatively minor issue. It doesn't make sense to me to be against such a referendum and then trot over to Gilmer or Towns county and dine at an establishment that pours alcohol. Oh well.

In all honesty, I would love to see local churches begin to exhibit what they are for rather than what they are against. What if the local church allocated these type resources towards eliminating cycles of poverty or feeding the hungry or clothing the naked of Fannin or even sought to reach out to a growing Hispanic community and offer classes on speaking English as a second language. These are the bigger fish to fry in my mind and according to what I see in the scriptures. The church in general and in my opinion is extremely stuck on itself and at times fails to see the larger picture or better yet that the world is a big, big place with many issues to consider, ie., genocide in Darfur, child sex slave trade, child soldiering, hunger, disease, poverty, lack of adequate drinking water, etc. Instead the church allocates a great deal of resources or comes out of the woodworks when what I feel is a minor issue is raised. I say to the church if you're going to be against this alcohol referendum you truly need to follow through and refrain from supporting any restaurant or grocery store or convenient store that allows it's sale. I don't think you can go halfway on this. I claim every right to be critical of the church because I am a part of it and at times I have been the problem and still continue to be and am seeking to be more and more a part of the greater solution and that is to show the grace and mercy and love of Jesus to all regardless of whether they believe as I do or not.

I would imagine if you took a poll from your average Joe and the question was, 'what does the local church stand for?' My guess is that you would hear the proverbial, well, they are against alcohol and homosexuality and smoking and dipping and rock music and movies and television, etc., etc. My hopes and dreams that this would change and we would begin to hear some of what I have referenced above that includes loving the unlovable and caring for widows and orphans and really sought to live as Christ did.

In closing, for those you have been demeaned, looked down upon, mistreated, etc - I ask for your forgiveness.

Many thanks for your time

Ben

Few could have said it better.

One question which I have been trying to find an answer to is why on these billboards in Fannin is there a picture of what appears to be a martini? I don't know about the rest of you guys but I think you might agree that this sort of depiction doesn't accurately represent the issue at hand and that it doesn't have anything to do with hard liquor. I find that sort of advertisement to be inflammatory and manipulative and in all reality dishonest.

It will be interesting to see if this vote goes the way of the yes's what kind of activity we will see at some area restaurants that are serving alcohol like around lunch time on Sunday....

I also wonder how many who were and are against the lottery in this state are also using it's proceeds to help fund their child's college education through Hope scholarships

In hearing the numbers about the potential increase in revenue if the vote goes to 'yes' it would be nice to hear how or even if some of those dollars might be used in helpful ways rather than to continue to pad already padded pockets or to think in terms of how it benefits ME. I do think it's all a wash and a waste if all we think about in terms of this outcome concerning the pro-pour community is how it benefits the individual or county and fails to see or act on behalf of those who you would never be seen in a marketing campaign for Fannin County. I think that is one of the bigger reasons for my injecting this dialogue is to encourage us all to think and act beyond the tip of our nose and that begins with ME.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on practical ways this increase in revenue might be used to serve those who are really in need of it. Let's don't build bigger houses or drive the finest of cars or accumulate more STUFF. Let's do something radical and life changing and beyond ourselves with the resources we do have.

Enjoying the dialogue