If North Carolina had a state vehicle, it would be a hand basket. And we’re on the highway to hell.
North Carolina has been in the national spotlight plenty of times, and I’m not talking about basketball. We have a GOP-run legislature emboldened by its Pope and Koch ties. They don’t believe in science, yet they are building a time machine, sending us back decades. Swiss watch makers would be in awe of the mastery of this time piece. Even Stephen Hawking might want to make a guest appearance to our general assembly.
With all that the NC GOP has done for education in our state, I imagine they have leaned toward erudite reading material so you’ll find Einstein’s Dreams on their nightstands. They are conducting live experiments with time.
But here’s the thing, it’s time we vote those people out.
North Carolina has long been a bastion of progressive sensibilities. We masterfully evoked a sense of tradition and integrity. What a fine balance of posterity and progress we were! There are people now more concerned with our state’s brand than its citizens. I work as a brand strategy consultant so it’s with expertise and experience I note that your brand is pretty lousy to begin with if you you care more about it than your people. Whether business or state, a brand begins and ends with its people. No one should heed this more than a public servant.
Alas, North Carolina has fallen to the back of the line when it comes to public education. We have an exorbitant number of children living in poverty. We have failed our citizens when it comes to healthcare. Our environmental policy is toxic. Fracking is on its way. We’re about to propose a more discriminatory religious freedom bill than what just passed in Indiana. The men of the GOP are all wrapped up in constituents’ lady parts. Choice only matters when it comes to schools. Our voter ID laws are among the strictest in the nation.
Yet, I believe there’s hope. It’s easy to feel defeated and throw your hands up in despair. It’s easy to leave. It’s easy to thwart your travel and retirement plans. It’s easy to pretend it doesn’t affect you.
But it’s not easy to walk away.
Friends ask me countless times why I don’t leave. For starters, it’s home. I like it here, despite the ninnies on Jones Street (a few good eggs aside). North Carolina is rich in myriad ways. Our history, traditions, ACC basketball, change of seasons, shores, mountains… And don’t forget the B-side triumvirate of barbecue, basketball, and beer. We have much to fight for. All it takes are a few (more) good people. We need your voice. And your vote.
We cannot let these few rotten apples wreck the proverbial bunch. It’s time to visit North Carolina. Spend some time here to experience the sea breeze and the mountain sunset. Let the juice of a peach dribble on your chin. Lick the foam of a local craft beer off your lips. Sop up barbecue sauce with a perfectly squishy bun. Feel the thumpwhooshing of the basketball in a college arena. Dip your toes in the sand. Listen to the drumming of waves. Cast a line in a mountain lake. We offer so much to delight all your senses.
North Carolina needs you.
I’m not leaving. I live in a state where my vote counts. My voice matters. I’m making a difference. In the words of the inimitable Mister Rogers, won’t you be my neighbor?