Opinion
The sad reality of a post-truth country
The first thing is to tame the rage so that you do not live in it all the time. Or worse, repressing it so often and so much that it calcifies into all-consuming despair. That won’t do.
The next thing is to cultivate joy stubbornly and aggressively. You know, that “pursuit of happiness” business. It is not easy to do it in our madhouse of a country. You know it and I know it.
A powerful display of compassion
To the Editor:
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to rural Georgia with a friend to see the Venerable Monks on their Walk for Peace. It was the same day that we awoke to the news of the United States invasion of Venezuela to arrest Nicolas Maduro. It was an abrupt end to the peacefulness of the Christmas season, making my head spin and bringing me back to chaos that is the hallmark of this administration. Sadly.
Maybe what Americans need is a hot beverage
A steaming beverage and good conversation mend most worries and heartaches, or at the least, lighten the emotional burden. Every fall and winter, I move into the hot drink season where a plethora of soothing beverages in mugs accompanies me through the day. It begins with coffee then transitions to various teas and hot lemon water until the evening is met with my new favorite liquid consumable, adaptogenic mushroom cocoa — not the hallucinogenic variety.
Who will you serve?
To the Editor:
I volunteered to serve during wartime. We had experienced the Cuban Missile Crisis and had military advisors training foreign nationals in Vietnam. Things escalated quickly and we found ourselves, “Neck deep in the big muddy ....” to quote the song by Pete Seeger. Our nation slowly slid into commitments that would cost thousands of young Americans their lives.
Support human dignity In Venezuela
To the Editor:
I write you as Western North Carolina's regional director for the Alliance for American Leadership. I am horrified by US actions undermining the autonomy of the Venezuelan people.
The United States should not be putting its hands into Venezuela’s oil production or revenues. Our country should not be making military strikes with the goal of pillaging resources of sovereign nations.
Something about those black bears
We love our bears here in the Smokies. It’s estimated there are around 15,000 in the four-state area surrounding the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and they’ve become an iconic symbol of the region.
So, it’s no wonder that of the hundreds of stories we published on The Smoky Mountain News website in 2025, it was one about relocating bears that was the most popular.
Another bloody war for oil?
To the Editor:
In 2016, while running for President, Donald Trump called the Iraq War “stupid.” He was right. Saddam Hussein was a vicious dictator, but the U.S. had no plan for what would happen after he was eliminated. This war was actually fought for control of Iraq’s massive oil deposits. The power vacuum in Iraq was quickly filled by Shia militias friendly to Iran — and even worse by ISIS fanatics who saw an opportunity to carve out their own territory of slavery and murder.
Vote out those not doing their job
To the Editor:
The “Pisgah Legal’s bind” article in the December 17 issue of your paper was very informative. Once again we can thank the Republicans in office for harming their constituents. Our representatives in Raleigh (and Washington) seem to be ignorant and insensitive.
WCU should step up to help students vote
To the Editor:
Partisan actions to create electoral advantages have likely always been rampant for both factions in the U.S. The fact that social media permits virtually instant communication to huge populations has added to the perception that such manipulations are much worse now than in the past.
