HORRY GEORGETOWN TECHNICAL COLLEGE

INTERVIEW OF ELAINE STEWART

JENNIFER C. Dietz hus-205 PROFESSOR Renee R. Causey
17 October 2013

For this assignment I chose to interview the most influential women in my entire life. My Nana, Elaine Stewart. Elaine Stewart was born the 24th of July 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Elaine continued to live in Milwaukee until she met her husband of 56 years Harry Stewart my Papa. Elaine and Harry have 5 of their own children, 20 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren. In 1976 Elaine and her family packed up and moved to a little town known as Lake Charles, Louisiana were they still currently live today. When asked if she would conduct an interview with me she was over joyed to oblige.
The first question asked of Elaine was; what changes have you seen in the world since you were a teenager? Elaine immediately sat back in her rocking chair, took a sip of her sweet tea, and with a large smile said “well I have seen many things in my life since I was a kid, but I’m sure I can think of a few things”(Stewart). The first thing that came to Elaine’s mind was how much the people and our country as a whole have turned away from God. Growing up in Milwaukee there was prayer in schools and any government meeting or affair would always begin with a word of prayer. God was just another part of your everyday life. If the idea of people were trying to appeal to our government to have the words God removed from our currency and our pledge of elegance it would be unheard of and you would be looked at and treated as a traitor to this country.
Elaine went on to say, the next thing would have to be the amount of compromises people make towards their thoughts and beliefs to remain politically correct. “People today will change what they do or do not believe in as fast as the wind changes direction as long as what it is that they believe doesn’t upset anyone” (Stewart). When Elaine was growing up you believed what you felt to be true and if it was different or offensive to what somebody else thought well they would just have to learn to deal with it. Because it was a very rare occurrence for anyone to change their viewpoint on a controversial subject because no matter what side of the fence you were on you wanted to convince others to share the same view points as you. However sadly that does not stand true today.
The final answer given to this question was how people today have such thin skin and take offense to everything. “Everyone todays seems to be waiting for something they can complain about so they can sue in court, with the hopes of making enough money that they can stop working” (Stewart). Growing up for Elaine was not always easy; she wasn’t the prettiest, the skinniest, the smartest, or the most popular. But that did not stop her from running and becoming the prom queen of her senior year of high school. Elaine had to go out and make new friends and ad posters to hang all over the walls to help her win votes. She would make up sayings on her posters that were poking fun towards her running mates. As did they about her, but no fights broke out, or parents were called, no suspensions from school were given, it was all just in good fun. Whereas, if that same thing were to happen in school today, there would be fighting, parents would have been called, and suspensions would have been handed out, all because somebody got there chest puffed up and they were both mad and embarrassed because they said unkind words about them so they had to do something about it to remain looking tough.
The second question asked of Elaine was; how have these changes impacted the world? Elaine now finishing her third glass of sweet tea said “well I guess I would have to say they have changed for the worst instead of the better” (Stewart). Taken back by her answer, I asked if she would be willing to explain a little further. Elaine agreed, and then continued to explain her original answer to me. Elaine explained that our country was founded and based upon the word of God from the Bible. “If you were to remove that from our country it would be like removing the heart from a person” (Elaine). The end result would be they would die because you removed the one major thing that made everything else work. And that is exactly what will happen to this country if you remove the heart (GOD) form this country. The compromising of people’s thoughts and beliefs all to stay politically correct simply makes everyone untrustworthy. “How can you truly believe somebody who at one point in time says and agrees with one opinion and in the next breath completely does a 180 degree turn to the other side of where they previously stood just because they want to go with what is popular. This happens inside our government all the time and who trusts them; nobody (Stewart). With that being said, how can we every truly know how people feel about something when every answer is being screened to make sure nobody gets upset. The answer is you can’t so we will just continue to live inside a world of fake people trying to make everybody feel good about each other.
As for people having thin skin and taking offense to everything I say “Grow up and get a job, work for your money instead of waiting to find a way to sue somebody for it” (Stewart)! When Elaine was growing up you never heard in the news about road rage, school shootings, flag burnings, and things of that nature. If you had a problem with somebody to went to that person and dealt with it and then moved on. Even if that meant you got into a fist fight afterward you would both go out and have a milkshake and a burger and it was over. Not today you know have to worry about going to jail because you may have called somebody a hurtful name of even worse you assaulted them and now you are forced to spend time in prison with actual hardened criminals all over what a fist fight. It is everybody wearing their feelings on their shoulders that have caused this great epidemic today.
The third question asked of Elaine was; what is the most positive/impactful invention that you have seen in your life time? Elaine looked up at me and said “That’s easy, the evolution of communication” (Stewart). Up until recently Elaine had only experienced a home phone with a cord that would stretch anywhere around the house and know she has seen things such as smart phones, the internet, and so much more. When asked how you think the evolution of communication has changed/impacted the world. Elaine replied with, “Well it has allowed us to see and talk to people that without it we would never be able to see or talk to. For example I am talking right know through a video chat on my Ipad 2 via a program called Skype that allowed me to conduct this interview as if my granddaughter were right here next to me. The final question asked of Elaine was: what advice would you give to a person under 21 in this day and age? Elaine answered with; “The same thing I tell of my 46 grandchildren. That they need remain strong in their belief system and not to waver based upon what people may think or what is being socially accepted in the world. But most importantly is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your might, and with all your soul” (Elaine). In closing throughout this interview I was able to experience and see a side of my Nana I had never seen or experienced before. But more importantly I was able to truly see through personal experiences how much things have actually changed and yet how much they have stayed the same. It was through this interview I was able to learn more about my Nana and this world we live in and how much it has or has not changed over a short period of time.

Works Citied
Gladding, S. T. (2012). Groups a counseling speciality. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.