Editor, The Smithfield Times:

Yesterday, a neighbor was describing a book to me she had been reading. It seemed to include the idea that “The Left” was weaponizing Critical Race Theory, or perhaps it was race in general. And I thought how funny that was since “The Left” thinks “The Right” is weaponizing Critical Race Theory.

I am once more taken back to “we are all afraid of the same thing.” “The Left” and “The Right,” both, seem to be afraid that “our way of life” will vanish from America. This in turn generates more fear as the road seems perilous. There are “too many obstructionists” who “stand in our way” of doing what we have publicly identified as the “Best Thing for America.”

There seems to be a disconnect between what is happening in the country and what is happening in the government. “Ruling parties” are determined to keep their edge while attempting to nullify as many of their opponents as possible. I remember in one of my first sociology courses in college I learned, “Institutions exist to perpetuate themselves.” What a frightening idea.

At any rate, back to our current situation. Change is frightening. We humans dislike it, perhaps even hate it. I remember reading a magazine article early on in my marriage that extolled the importance of making little changes along the way so that when life threw the big changes at us, we were in a better position to be OK.

I worry about decisions that are being made about our schools. As people scrutinize reading lists with an idea of removing some of the books from the library, students have access via phone, internet, etc., to all of the content people are attempting to remove from their sphere.

My thinking is that “I would prefer the young have adult guidance during this time of exploration rather than being exiled to a world without the benefit of older, hopefully wiser, people who have been around the block a bit longer.”

 

Jo Weaver

Zuni