Too-harsh judgment of Southern culture

As I read the comments in Thursday’s Opinion section by Jack Burke (“Some parts of Southern history are not so proud”) it was hard to understand why the writer could suggest Southerners are living in the past and furthermore, ask how can they be so proud of this past.

Let me offer two responses. First, how is it that you are not the one who is even more stuck in the past? Not all Southerners owned slaves, nor were most engaged in the hanging of, the raping of, or the persecuting of slaves. Second, slavery was not illegal at this time in history and most of the world tolerated slavery. Today, slavery is still a part of life in many places of the world.

It would seem to me that your judgment of all Southerners is the prime example and definition of racism; you have condemned the entire Southern white culture of being slavers. Since neither of us was alive in the 17th and 18th century just how do you know how many believed or did not believe in slavery? Why would you not give the people in the South the benefit of the doubt and show some of your great Christian magnanimity? Instead, you make unsubstantiated charges about officers of the law, education and teachers, voting rights and the Confederate battle flag. Flags and monuments do not make people racist.

However, you did in fact have one sentence, mostly a throwaway, so that you might appear fair — that many Southerners did treat all people with respect. You could have said “most,” but then I guess it did not fit the rant you were having.

— Jean Roberts

Kannapolis

Misguided criticism

“NAACP criticizes monument bill.” What a surprise. This group, along with their misguided Moral Monday group, has done nothing but complain since the GOP took over North Carolina. Look below the NAACP headline. NC revenues surpass estimates by $445 million. Case Closed.

— Grant Eagle

Concord

Hear silenced voices

I want to thank Hood Seminary for hosting the Community Forum on Thursday evening. I would imagine the powers that be had just such a meeting in mind when they laid the foundation for the amazing facility we know as the Aymer Center. Many opinions, experiences and emotions were shared.

As we move forward I want to add a note of caution. Six of the nine people murdered at Mother Emmanuel Church were female, and the three survivors are female. So nine out of the 12 people that looked evil in the eye on that fateful summer night, which is why we are gathering for Community Forums, were or are female. We need to be very clear and intentional about who is invited to the table. In my experience, when you are not invited to the table your voice is silenced. We will not heal as a community or a county or a state or a nation until we listen to the voices that have been silenced.

We also must look into ourselves and our own power structures, in our secular and our religious communities, which have silenced those voices. Only then will we truly move toward change and healing.

— Rev. Margaret Almeida

Salisbury

Pollution & drought

As the summer heat plagues North Carolina, headlines claim that drought has returned to our state. Each week, the North Carolina Drought Management Council updates the NC drought map, which displays the levels of drought in the state. As of July 28, three counties are experiencing severe drought conditions; 21 are experiencing moderate drought; and 23 are abnormally dry.

What does air pollution have to do with drought? Potentially, quite a bit. A University of Maryland study suggests that increased air pollution can worsen drought and flooding. The study shows that increased particular matter levels can strongly affect cloud development in ways that reduce precipitation in dry regions or seasons.

As we experience drought conditions, it is important to understand the ways environmental and health issues are linked. The American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report highlights how wildfires and dry dust particles caused by drought conditions worsen air pollution in California. Drought exacerbates heat-related illnesses, which are a particular problem in rural areas of North Carolina. Some researchers are even linking drought to the shark attacks on the North Carolina coast.

Air pollution in the form of greenhouse gases, such as the CO2 and methane emitted by burning fossil fuels, is the major contributor to climate change. By reducing the production of greenhouse gases from power generation, the EPA’s forthcoming Clean Power Plan has the potential to reduce the threat of drought in North Carolina’s future.

— Sarah Roberts

Durham Roberts attends Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and is a Stanback intern with Medical Advocates for Healthy Air.