WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Voting is on the minds of many people these days. We see the histrionics and we know our vote is going to make a difference. Our apathy of yesterday must turn into our assertiveness today.

Sitting back and thinking these times will get better is only wishful thinking. Today, there are hard-hearted men and women in public office, so we cannot drop our guard. They are ruthless and relentless and will not stop until longstanding traditions are decimated and destroyed.

Just a few weeks ago, approximately 680 undocumented workers, mainly Latino immigrants, were taken from their jobs by federal agents in Mississippi. Families were torn apart and futures were dismantled. The immigration authorities have become mean-spirited and insensitive. Is our country still a country of second chances?

We have lost our moral compass in a sea of discontent. No longer do we give our brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt. We give them the cold shoulder. Those in this camp of ill repute have lost their humanity. Mr. T and his band of incorrigibles will continue in 2020 if we don’t vote.

Gerrymandering has taken a new position of prominence in the GOP. Republican leadership sees this as a strategy to gain more control of legislative bodies. Their power and disregard for the rules have led them to try to redraw voting districts.

Democrats and Independents must wake up and fight this ill-conceived activity. We can no longer reason with insanity. Our patience has run out. It is time to march, to protest and to bring this malpractice to a screeching halt.

“North Carolina Judges Kill GOP-Drawn Map” is the title of an article that appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal. The first sentence of the piece written by Brent Kendall and Jess Bravin says, “A panel of state-court judges struck down North Carolina’s legislative districts Tuesday, ruling that Republicans improperly gerrymandered state voting lines to provide an enduring political majority for the GOP.”

The North Carolina Republican Party should be embarrassed because of their unethical actions. The National GOP should put them on probation until after the 2020 elections. Will the party that features Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz do something? You know and I know they won’t.

North Carolina State Senator, Phil Berger said, “Republicans wouldn’t appeal and instead comply and move forward with the adoption of a nonpartisan map.” Maybe we should applaud him for wanting to be fair and impartial. Being fair and impartial are two qualities that are in short supply in today’s Republican Party.

In my opinion, Republicans of good will who have a conscious have been swallowed up by this extreme faction of their party. The voices of Susan Collins from Maine and Tim Scott from South Carolina have become almost muted and silenced. They are ashamed of what is happening to the Grand Old Party. You can’t make wrong right and you can’t make evil good.

It is important for we the people to speak up and to speak out against this voter tyranny because that is what gerrymandering is. We must use our legislators to our benefit. We must be heard!

Forces that perpetuate evil have become more a part of our political process than ever before in our history. We can’t allow dishonest people to create dishonest systems that leave people without a vote and without a voice. Our right to vote is being compromised. We are being hoodwinked at the ballot box.

Let us remain ever vigilant so that we can ward off schemes that disenfranchise American voters.

Students from Mineral Springs Middle School enjoy their discussion with N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and other special guests on Monday, Sept. 9.