SHOW LOVE, SAY NO TO GAMBLING
By C. William Page
If gambling becomes legal in North Carolina, the term, "first in flight" could take on another meaning.
North Carolina can be proud of its "firsts". It was the first colony to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence.
"First in Flight" refers to the Kitty Hawk 1903 "powered" flight of the Wright brothers. That "first" is considered a milestone in aviation history.
The question of "legalized" gambling (or gaming) is a horse of another breed. Rather than being a positive and encouraging "first" it would become a shameful and destructive "last". It would signal a deviation in North Carolina's values, ethics and morality flight plan. It would actually represent a flight away from decent morals and values.
It would represent a flight away from good examples for children. It would represent a flight away from acceptable Christian ethics. It would represent a flight away from the work ethic. It would represent a flight away from the belief that the end does not justify the means. It would represent a flight away from our state's motto, "Esse quan videri (To be, rather than to seem)."
It ("legalized" gambling) would represent an embracing of that which is wrong, not right, with America.
To "legalize" gambling is to open wide the door and lay out the welcome mat to the ungodly elements of the world.
To "legalize" gambling is to step out of the carefully laid path of responsible government and step into the mud, slime and quagmire of crisis-management expediency.
History clearly shows that gambling is neither an expedient nor proper tool to use in the management of the fiscal affairs of governing bodies. Many wise statesmen have avoided its deceitful allure. According to Lewis C. Henry, George Washington said the following: "It (gaming) is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity and the father of mischief".
Personally, I believe "legalized" gambling is a form of citizen abuse. Here is the scenario: The government levies all the taxes it dares levy, then, knowing the citizens are taxed to the hilt, it finds another "painless" way to get money from them. This is abuse, plain and simple, referendum notwithstanding.
Citizens should know that playing the lottery is gambling. The World Book Encyclopedia defines "lottery" as follows: "Lottery is perhaps the most widespread form of gambling. In most lotteries, the gamblers buy numbered tickets." The encyclopedia goes on to say that "lotteries also financed various state and local government activities in the United States. Some churches and school buildings were built with funds from lotteries. In the 1830s, many people began to oppose lotteries. State after state prohibited them. By 1894, Congress had closed interstate and foreign commerce to lottery materials, and legal lotteries were no longer held in the United States."
Friends, if you love North Carolina as much as I do, let's not go back to that cursed way of providing for our needs. Our children deserve better. We can do better. By 1894, Congress had closed the door on lotteries. In North Carolina, the misguided want to reopen it by 1994. Let's show our love for this state by being the first to say "No!" Let's keep that dangerous door closed.
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