Our founders were willing to die for the rights espoused in the declaration they crafted and signed at their own peril. Their document boldly proclaimed our right to live in freedom, a freedom to be protected, not threatened, by the rule of the government. The basic rights and freedoms enumerated in the Declaration of Independence included the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights were God-given and could not be eliminated even by a king or a government!
It is startling to many people that the same types of injustices that led to the revolution are reoccurring in America today! It was heavy-handed authoritarian control and unfair laws our founders were against! There are many similarities between today’s issues in the United States and the issues the colonies experienced leading up to the declaration. Our founders were called traitors and radicals, and then the people rebelled.
When it comes down to it, many Americans simply don’t have the spine or fortitude to stand up and fight, even with liberty on the line. But self-government requires the people to engage and take action. Otherwise the system begins to run on its own accord, growing ever larger, more powerful and less responsive to those it was meant to serve. Soon the servant becomes the master. Sometimes, we have to stand up and cut the monster back down to size. It’s hard. It’s messy. And sometimes, it’s downright scary. But stand up we must.
I think an ominous question exists that every person capable of rational thought must ask themselves. What kind of country are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? What will you say when they ask what you did to stop the tyranny and destruction of our constitutional republic?
— Wes Rhinier

Salisbury

We elect the School Board but it seems several members are working for Dr. Judy Grissom and not for what the teachers and community need. I can’t find one person that can tell me what Dr. Grissom has done for our kids or to improve our school system. She has failed in many areas, including where it pertains to Dr. Donald Knox and South Rowan High School. What she has done is cause confusion and discontent with teachers and the community. Our teachers cannot stand up for each other for fear of retaliation.
RSS laid off 45 teachers because of budget restraints at the end of this school year. But somehow, they were able to come up with the money needed to send Dr. Grissom and some of her employees to a conference in Texas. I want to know why we are spending money to send our superintendent to a conference when she will be retiring in September. What about our children? I don’t see them getting a nice deluxe bus to ride in. I have been told that the money comes from a different “pot.” All the “pots” comes from taxpayers. I think that this needs to be looked at a lot more closely. Conferences should be put on the back burner when such cuts are being made to staff and they should focus on the children.
Don’t just believe everything you hear or read. Take the time and find out what is really going on with our school system. You will be shocked! Go to the School Board meetings and (if they will let you) share your concerns. Let them know what you expect from the next superintendent. He/she is going to have a lot of “cleaning up” to do. It’s our job to make sure they are doing their jobs.
— Melissa Mangum

Salisbury

Editor’s note: As the Post reported in June, Grissom and other school system representatives attended the International Society for Technology in Education conference in San Antonio to accept the 2013 Sylvia Charp Award for innovation in using technology in education on behalf of the school system.