We’re in this together
I don’t believe Americans are divided by ideology. I think our division has been patiently created by a persistent and pernicious group of extreme political activists who have used social media algorithms to determine what information we receive. We generally rely too much on social media for our information. Our shared sense of reality has suffered, and distrust of government, institutions, and expertise has grown.
I think Americans still share a set of values that try to balance personal freedoms and social responsibilities. Because the consequences of this election are so important, we must take our citizenship responsibilities more seriously. We must broaden our news sources beyond social media.
For example, I enjoy SCETV (89.9 FM) for its wide ranging information about politics and government, culture, arts, science and health; the PBS NewsHour is available on YouTube every night after 6. Our library offers free remote access to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Substack newsletters like “Letters From an American” bring historical context to current events. I appreciate this newspaper’s inclusion of state news (articles from the S.C. Daily Gazette) as well as local coverage. And so many books …
Which candidates truly reflect your values? How do you know, if your social media algorithm is your only news source?
We are all in this together.
— Carol Brown, Beaufort
Fool us once …
Imagine if your teenager maxed out your credit cards, bounced a bunch of checks and then demanded more money to clean their room? You would say “no,” of course, not because you’re a meanie, or because you don’t want the room clean. But because your trust has been broken.
Case in point: what happened to all those hundreds of millions from previous “Penny Tax” votes? Excuses vary, but the demand from the County is clear: we need to pay up yet again. And this time a whole lot more.
Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice … shame on Beaufort County. This Transportation Sales Tax referendum is essentially a ransom payment for years of unrepentant waste and mismanagement.
We must stop throwing good money after bad, we must demand basic fiscal discipline and competence, and we must hold our stakeholders accountable. It’s time for some tough love. Vote “NO” on the Transportation Sales Tax (TST) Referendum #1 and #2.
— Erich Hartmann, Beaufort
We can “Turn the Page …”
We all now have the opportunity to caste a vote to literally determine our common future. Recognize your vote as no simple act. Each vote, cumulatively gathered, will lead us either to a secure democracy—or to an unknown chaos. We are a badly splintered nation at the moment. A sign of our malaise is that literal signs expressing support for political candidates of either party—-have been disappearing in the night!
The original words of the Pledge of Allegiance, from 1892, read, “I pledge. Allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE, with liberty and justice for all.”
In 1923 we added, “to the flag of the United States of America.” Then, in 1954, after leading us through World War II, Eisenhower asked congress to add “under God” to the pledge, in response to the threat of Communism.
So, having voted or when you vote, realize that you are endorsing either a candidate who appears vulnerable to vast negative forces and dark money within our nation, or who might benefit from very real active efforts by Russia and China to interfere in our electoral process —or you can recognize a choice to support the rule of law, our Constitution and all the values inherent in this republic called America.
I have a friend named Sam. Sam is a Black Vietnam veteran. He is presently quite ill, and when I visited recently he bemoaned his inability to replace his badly faded and tattered U.S. flag.
So today I took Sam a brightly colored new flag I bought at Walmart (made in the USA, thank God), installed it on his flagpole, and handed him his old flag for which he will [conduct the] proper retirement ceremony — which includes that Pledge. Sam has truly lived the very essence of that Pledge, here in that very place where Reconstruction — “… the second founding of America …” —began.
Now we vote on what in these turbulent times might seem like another potential re-birth of a UNITED States.
I know Sam’s vote will help turn that page!
— Timothy Dodds, Lady’s Island
