Opinion
Jackson commissioners making poor decisions
To the Editor:
I want to address the financial issues involved with the decision by the Jackson County commissioners to leave the Fontana Regional Library System.
This past June citizens of Jackson County experienced a significant tax increase. The commissioners made a show at the June meeting of “lowering” the tax rate.
Losing library director makes matters worse
To the Editor:
I’m sorry to read that Tracy Fitzmaurice resigned as head of the Fontana Regional Library System, and I want to say something clearly in defense of Tracy.
Tracy has given decades of steady, public-minded service to the Fontana Regional Library community — she’s been with the system since 1991 and stepped into the director role in January 2023. That kind of institutional knowledge and calm competence isn’t replaceable on a 30-day timeline.
A great leader grows roots, not weeds
Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe me.”
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole
Sky.
This poem by the 14th century Persian poet, Hafiz, was cited in Wayne Dyer’s book “Change Your Thoughts — Change Your Life.”
More voters are choosing “independent”
To the Editor:
In response to guest columnist Walter Cook’s recent article, “Don’t expect better results with the same choices,” (Dec. 31 edition of SMN) Mr. Cook accurately describes a political reality in Western North Carolina: for far too long, many voters have cast ballots strictly along party lines — then wondered why so little changes, or why things get worse.
Stripping away our humanity
To the Editor:
The attitude of “I get up in the morning and go to work, come home tired and hope for the best” just isn’t going to work anymore. Especially if you are a three-time Trump voter.
This country is being ripped apart by a man who has intentionally divided the American people for his own gain and that of his wealthy friends. Take a close look at the Big Beautiful Bill and who it favors.
Military retiree decries Trump’s actions
To the Editor:
This will be the shortest letter to the editor I have ever written because a retired U.S. Army paratrooper major says it better than I ever could.
So I challenge anyone reading this who still thinks that Donald Trump is a decent, honorable man who deserves to be president to watch this video.
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.
