N.C. Senator Censured For Impeachment Vote

By:  Mildred Robertson

It seems that the North Carolina Republican Party is at odds with the majority of American citizens when it comes to the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. Recent surveys show that 56% of Americans supported his conviction and nearly 60 percent of North Carolinians say the former president is either responsible or somewhat responsible for the violence at the US. Capitol on January 6, 2021.  However, only 11% of North Carolina Republicans share that opinion. So on February 15th the Party moved to censure Senator Burr, one of seven Republican Senators to vote to convict the former president who incited the January 6 riot that desecrated the U.S. Capitol building, claimed 6 lives and resulted in numerous injuries. 

As we watch the dissimilation of the Republication Party, it becomes apparent that the party's demise will also negatively impact the entire country. In a February 15 article published in the Greater Diversity Magazine, John E. Finn, Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan University said, “In the end, a safe and healthy constitutional democracy depends upon elected public officials and an educated citizenry that values the principles and practices of constitutional democracy more than it values political power and partisan politics.”

It became clear in the last four years that many of our elected officials lack those values and principles referred to by Finn. Further, our citizenry has failed to pursue true understanding of our Constitution but rather have been seduced by conspiracy theorists and false leaders. There is no better evidence of this than the red states, North Carolina key among them, who have chosen to punish their representatives, rather than applaud their bravery for voting to impeach the 45th president of the United States.

And it is a matter of bravery. It is commonly agreed that, were the impeachment vote held by secret ballot, well more than the needed two-thirds majority would have cast their votes to convict. But our new reality is that the former president still has sway over an unhinged MAGA crowd which has demonstrated its proclivity for violence. Even if republican legislators did not have to fear physical violence to themselves and their families, there would remain the fear of the gerrymandered vote, where few republican candidates can survive the primary without the MAGA vote. 

During his tenure, I have seldom agreed with Richard Burr. His decision was made somewhat easier in that he had already planned his departure from the legislature. It took courage none-the-less, whatever his other motives. So I applaud him for doing what was right for North Carolina and the nation. But our nation stands in jeopardy as long as the former president is left unchecked and his seditionist followers remain unpunished. This is a heavy burden being borne by the Democrats and the Biden administration. It is my prayer that more elected officials will let go of fear and overcome partisanship and the pursuit of power to promote the true principles and practices of constitutional democracy. Again, Sen. Burr, I applaud you for being one of seven who had the courage to make that choice.   

 

North Carolina D.P.I. Ponders Adding Diversity and Inclusion To Curriculum

 By Mildred Robertson

There is a firestorm in North Carolina over the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s proposal to teach American history as it occurred rather than whitewashing it to show that our nation has always lived up to the lofty expectations set out in our constitution. It appears that teaching our students the truth about America’s founding, its slaughter of native Americans, its enslavement of Africans and its abuse of former slaves and other minorities is just too much for some in the state to bear.

DPI’s move to ensure diversity and inclusion in the standard K-12 curriculum is opposed by GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson who said Wednesday he has collected 27,000 signatures in an online petition calling on the state board to reject the new standards. Robinson, who is black, (More about him another time), said public education has become so anti-conservative that he has not been allowed to speak at schools while activities such as Black Lives Matter are promoted.

However, this is not an issue of conservative versus progressive; but rather an issue of fact over fiction. I recall when I was in middle school in Missouri when I had a heated disagreement with my history teacher over the inventor of the cotton gin. I was taught that Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, but in my individual studies, with prompting from my “woke” sisters, I had learned that slaves had invented many of the tools and practices that were attributed to their white owners. In my search for truth I found that Eli Whitney’s slaves invented the cotton gin. However, they were his chattel (not considered human therefore ineligible to file a patent). Their discoveries were attributed to him. He patented the cotton gin in 1794. Needless to say, when I stated as much on my test, my answer was marked wrong. She was incensed, even though I had provided her with proof that what she was teaching was incorrect.

That was more than 50 years ago, yet many white Americans still seem to struggle with the incongruence of history with perceived reality. Why is it so hard to state that America was a land stolen from its original owners and its economy built on the backs of enslaved people?  Why would such a statement be considered divisive?  Is it, perhaps, because this nation has yet to take the first step toward reconciliation with those that have been wronged—acknowledgement of guilt! 

We must teach our children the struggles this nation has endured in order to arrive at this place in history. We have to let them see what we did wrong, as well as what we did right.  How else can they be expected to make better decisions?

The American experiment is an awesome, somewhat successful one.  But it is not without flaws. Our country has brutalized many on its trek toward becoming the most powerful nation in the world.  Non-Europeans have borne the brunt of that brutality. But America has historically failed to admit the brutality and disparity that accompanied its progress.

Looking back toward slavery and its aftermath, forty acres and a mule would have been nice. But could those of you who wield the reigns of authority simply agree to those dark chapters of our nation’s history and codify methods to ensure that parity will be pursued in the future? Can we work toward building a nation where justice and equality are jealously safeguarded in our current social and political endeavors? Can we strive to see our past failures so they won’t be replicated in our future?

Can we simply teach our children the truth?