WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Must everything we do have a political slant to it? Must every word we say have a political vent to it?

Must we always take sides?

I rise each morning wondering when this nightmare of exclusionary confusion will be over. When will common sense and not political sense be the call of the day?

Here are just a few examples of how politics have risen to unprecedented highs.

The pandemic has been with us for over a year now. Even after COVID-19 was called a pandemic, there were those who minimized it and skirted around the problem. They were playing politics with it.

Debra Hunter last week was ordered to serve 30 days in jail, pay a $500 fine, and have a mental health examination and anger management. She coughed in the face of a cancer survivor. This incident happened last year.

The victim, Heather Sprague, was wearing a mask.

At last, we were able to get a vaccine. However, it was slow to be distributed. Some states received it faster than other states. Why?

They were playing the political game.

In November, we had one of the most contentious elections in modern day history. Our system was tested but it prevailed. Election boards and the courts said that it was a fair election. Not everyone thought that was the case.

As a result, the term “Big Lie” came to be.

The Big Lie was that the election was stolen and that fraud took place. This lie has been spread throughout the country. It has become a part of the American landscape.

There is unfortunately a segment of the population that carries this Big Lie around with them every day.

The January 6^th insurrection on our Nation’s Capitol was a result of the Big Lie. Lives were lost and our country was rocked to its core. This event did not have to happen.

It happened because evil people with evil minds played political games with our beloved country.

Just weeks ago, Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, signed into law legislation that will weaken the voting rights of people of color. The law is shrouded in ill-gotten gains. It won’t last long.

Now, we have folks walking around with no masks and too close together. This is after hearing masks work and social distancing does too. These are the people who do not think the pandemic is real and have no need for the vaccine. They are immersed in their own way of wayward thinking.

Families across America have now received the stimulus checks. Obviously, these checks are to help us and the economy get back on its feet.

Are some families misusing the stimulus checks because of the categories they fall into and the amount of money they get?

Yes, there are families that are misusing the stimulus system.

For example, if you have a job, do not quit your job for the temporary relief that you receive from this check. These checks are called stimulus checks, not permanent checks.

If you do, you are doing just what some people said you were going to do. Do not sit at home when you can be working.

The political climate in this country is unhealthy. The blame game is ever-present. We blame each other for what goes wrong. Yet we do not have gratitude when things go well.

Do not engage in sideways thinking. Be a part of the solution. Be on the right side of history.

It will take all of us working together to make America an America for all Americans.

Do not play the political game.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator. He can be reached at  overtimefergie.2020@yahoo.com.