Archived Opinion

Rep. Meadows is hung up on the wall

To the Editor:

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, does a disservice to all Americans, but particularly to legal immigrants, by fanning the flames of xenophobia with unsubstantiated claims of terrorists crossing our southern border. He cites one case. I’m not buying it. I’m much more concerned about our own home-grown terrorists (think Charlottesville).

He proposes spending the massive amount of $15 billion to build an unnecessary wall, plus infrastructure, along the border while much-needed repairs to failing infrastructure nationwide go without funding. I strongly object to directing money toward this project when it could be used elsewhere in ways that would truly benefit our country (water supplies and safety, highways and bridges, healthcare facilities, education, etc.).

Is this an effort to placate supporters or could it possibly be an effort to redirect attention from healthcare? His last effort to do that was holding his only town hall meeting in a small town at the far edge of his district, but the auditorium was packed anyway. That didn’t work; I don’t think this effort will work either. The demand for affordable health care is not going to go away, but I hope the misdirected efforts toward building a wall disappear as more and more people understand the true costs and the consequences.

Joanne Strop

Waynesville

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.