Opinion: Maness Clear Choice for State Superintendent

Observer Editorial Board

The Anderson Observer does not routinely publish endorsements of political candidates, but Tuesday’s Republican Party Runoff for South Carolina State Superintendent is a critical race that could jeopardize the immediate future of the state’s public schools. 

The two remaining candidates Kathy Maness and Ellen Weaver, offer stark contrasts in both experience and approach to the position. 

There is a reason State Education Superintendent Molly Spearman is endorsing Maness, the longtime teachers’ advocate in the race to be the next leader of South Carolina’s K-12 public school system.  

Spearman, who is not seeking a third term, and who will be missed, said she supports Maness because of her experience in the classroom, knowledge of the state’s diversity/disparities as well as her understanding of the political process that funds and sets education policy. 

Maness, who serves as executive director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association, has been advocating for teachers at the Statehouse since 1993 and has built professional connections with legislators, a key element to success.

“She is definitely the most experienced and is fully qualified, no question,” Spearman told The Post and Courier earlier this month. “The things that are important to me: She’s a teacher. She knows the legislative process,” said Spearman. “She’s been probably in more schools than I’ve been in. The part I think is really, really important is that overall knowledge of South Carolina and an appreciation of the rural versus urban, the world-class versus struggling.”

Maness faces Ellen Weaver, director of the Palmetto Promise Institute, a conservative think tank founded by former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint in Tuesday’s runoff elections.

In addition to Spearman’s words of support for a candidate with extensive public education experience, there are other fundamental reasons for voting for Maness. 

Unlike her opponent, Maness has all of the baseline qualifications for the office, including a master’s degree, something Weaver lacks. Weaver has said if she wins the primary, she will have a master’s degree before the November elections. Such a statement is not only somewhat dubious, but an affront to higher education. After an extensive online search, no higher education institutions with a five-month program to receive a master’s degree were to be found. One university, Capella, offered an intensive six-month degree but only if the candidate is eligible for credits for previous years of education experience and academic credentials. 

The second is the requirement that the state superintendent of education has “broad-based experience” in public education or finance. 

Maness, who holds a master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of South Carolina, as well as a “master’s-plus-30 certification” in education administration from Winthrop University, certainly exceeds the qualifications. 

“I’ve traveled to every school district in the state of South Carolina,” Maness said. “There are schools that really, really need to be improved. I’ve testified before the general assembly and said ‘There are schools in South Carolina that I wouldn’t let my three children go to.’ If they’re not good enough for my children, they’re not good enough for my children, they’re not good enough for any child in South Carolina. We have to do better.”

Weaver, a Bob Jones University graduate, said she has enrolled in a master’s program in leadership through Western Governor’s University, but has offered few details. She does not meet the qualification of experience in public education, and in face, has been an ardent advocate of private-school vouchers at the expense of the state’s public schools.  

“We’ve got to look at our critical infrastructure needs,” Weaver, who’s only experience in education is serving the S.C. Educational Oversight Committee. “Like so much in South Carolina education, it’s not about the fact that we’re not spending enough money. It’s about how we’re prioritizing the money that we’re currently spending.”

At least three long-time educational leaders told the Anderson Observer that Weaver would weaken an already shaky financial structure for the state’s public schools. More than a dozen teachers have told us they support Maness.  

Weaver has pledged to stop “woke indoctrination” while seeking to tie Maness to the national Democratic party. In doing so she has garnered the endorsement of many in the state’s Republican establishment. Her website emphasizes national GOP issues such as critical race theory.  

At least three long-time educational leaders told the Anderson Observer they feared Weaver would weaken an already shaky financial structure for the state’s public schools and inject politics into areas with unfounded and unhelpful posturing.  

Tuesday’s primary runoff offers voters a clear choice for the GOP candidate for state superintendent of education. Does South Carolina deserver an education chief with 30-plus years’ experience, one who has visited every district in the state to listen to teachers and administrators about their challenges in educating students, or a political operative with no practical education experience who promises who panders to the loud political voices concerned with critical race theory and other fringe issues? 

Opinion: Impact Fee Best Option to Pay for School Dist. One Growth

Robbie Binnicker/Supertindent, Anderson County School District One

Anderson One’s plan to help our current taxpayers is to let growth pay for growth. We are facing two unavoidable facts. The first fact is that Anderson One is one of the fastest growing areas in the state, Powdersville and Wren in particular. We project having to serve an additional 2,000 students in the next 8 to 10 years. The second fact is that Anderson One will have to add classrooms at every one of our 14 schools and/or build new schools to accommodate this record growth.  

The question is: How do we pay for this growth? Instead of asking our current taxpayers to pay the entire bill for expanding classrooms, we would like for new subdivisions and new houses to pay a fair share. 

An impact fee is the best way to accomplish this. An impact fee would allow growth, in the form of new subdivisions and new houses, to pay for the increased need for school capacity. It will allow Anderson One to keep up with the pace at which developers and builders are adding to the population of our area.

Here’s how it works. Similar to the impact fees charged by water and sewer companies, the fee is assessed at the time a new construction building permit is purchased. This fee is only assessed on new subdivisions, new houses, and new apartments, not the buying or selling of existing homes. The money from the impact fee then goes into an escrow account, which Anderson One can only use for the purpose of expanding school capacity for students. 

Historically, Anderson One has turned to the taxpayers through bond referendums to pay for new schools and renovations to existing schools. In 2009, Anderson One passed an $85 million referendum to build a new high school in Powdersville and to add classroom space to many of their 14 campuses. Again, in 2019, Anderson One passed a $109 million bond referendum to replace two outdated middle schools and to add additional space in elementary, middle, and high schools. Now, Anderson One is continuing to face additional record growth. According to Data USA, Powdersville is growing at a rate of 2% per year and has grown an astounding 42% since 2000. In comparison, the fastest growing area in the state, York County, is growing at a 3.5% pace. 

Bond referendums like the one in 2019 spread the cost for new classrooms across all home and business owners. An impact fee, however, would ask new subdivisions and new houses to pay a fair share for the impact this growth has on our schools.

In November 2021, TischlerBise, the nation’s leading expert in cost of growth strategies, completed the required study. The firm calculated a maximum impact fee of $7,855 on multi-family homes and $11,249 on single family homes. Based on the $176,000 median home price in Anderson School District One, if rolled into the mortgage, the cost would be $55 per month on a new house. 

Other school districts growing as fast as Anderson One have used impact fees as a way to reduce further tax increases. The most notable is York County which passed an $18,000 impact fee to help pay for additional school capacity. Closer to home, the city of Easley passed a $3,340 impact fee. Tega Cay near Fort Mill passed a $4,317 impact fee for schools, and Lancaster passed an impact fee for both new residences and businesses. None of these areas have seen a decrease in demand for housing as a result of the impact fee. Not even York County which has the highest fee. 

Our main goal in the near future is to build a new elementary school in Powdersville. It is imperative that we alleviate overcrowding at Concrete Primary, Powdersville Elementary, and Spearman Elementary.  Equally important is that we provide some relief for the traffic impact that growth has had on the current residents. We would like for new subdivisions and new houses in our area to pay a fair share for this. Growth should pay for growth.  

The Anderson County Planning Commission and subsequently the Anderson County Council is considering the impact fee proposal. If you agree with the idea that growth should pay for growth, please contact your representatives.  Express your support for the idea that the new subdivisions and new houses should pay a fair share for expanding schools, not the current taxpayers of Anderson One.  

Opinion: MLK Left Legacy of Courage, Challenge

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Today, as we celebrate the birthday of MLK Jr., is a good time to recall a few of the reasons we so honor and revere the man and his accomplishments. Amazing that the fight to establish his birthday as a national holiday took 32 years.

The following is a very brief history of a man who from the beginning of his ministry was threatened, jailed attacked and under siege by the government for answering the call.

He was a pastor in Alabama, working on his first book, when he received the first of many death threats. It was a defining moment, one which inspired and motivated him to press on in his calls for equality and freedom for all.

After his house was bombed not long afterward, a large group gathered calling for revenge. But King pleaded for non-violent response, something more lasting than an eye for an eye. 

He shared this vision, this non-violent path to achieve his goals, less than a year later when he gathered with other black ministers to share strategies in the fight against discrimination and segregation. He was made chairman of the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent integration (later to be known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference), and he and like-minded brethren found strength in organizing. 

In 1958, King delivered his first national address at the Lincoln Memorial "Give Us the Ballot,” demanding equal access at the polls for all Americans. He and other leaders met with President Eisenhower that year to discuss voting rights and other issues. 

But in Sept. 1958, during a book signing of his “Stride Toward Freedom” in New York City, he is stabbed and rushed to a Harlem hospital where a 7-inch letter opener is removed from his chest. The book, which outlined in writing the reasons behind the Montgomery bus boycott for the first time laid out his strategic, non-violent approach to fighting racism and its oppression, gained national attention.

In 1959, King spent a month in India, where he met with prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and many of Grandi's followers, a visit that solidified his belief in the power of non-violent dissent. 

In February of 1960, he moved to Atlanta to become assistant pastor to his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Later that year he is arrested during a sit-in demonstration at Rich's department store in Atlanta. On Oct. 19 is sentenced to four months hard labor for violating probation conditions he received earlier that year for driving with an out-of-state drivers license. He is released on $2,000 bond on Oct. 27. 

In May of 1961, he addressing a mass rally at a mob-besieged Montgomery church after the first group of Freedom Riders are assaulted in Alabama. 

In 1962 he is arrested in Albany Georgia at a prayer vigil and jailed for two weeks. In September of that year he is assaulted in Birmingham by a member of the American Nazi Party. 

In April 1963, he writes his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in response to other leaders looking for advice. 

One month later, Birmingham explodes after Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor uses fire hoses, dogs, clubs and cattle prods on men, women and children to disperse 4,000 demonstrators in Downtown Birmingham. The national television coverage so shocked America that many began to question the attack on women and children. It was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

In August the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” attracts more than 200,000 demonstrators to the Lincoln Memorial. It was the setting for the "I Have a  Dream" Speech and King met with President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson afterwards at the White House.

But in October of that year United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy authorizes the FBI to wiretap King's home phone. 

In January of 1964, now-President Johnson meets with King and others to seek support for his war on poverty. In March, King meets with Malcolm X for the first and only time. The two are at strategic odds, but within a couple of years were both moving toward the need for economic freedom for minorities.  

In June 1964 his book "Why We Can't Wait" is published. That same month he is jailed in St. Augustine for demanding service at a whites-only restaurant.  

As King criticizes FBI for failure to protect civil rights workers, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover says King is the most dangerous man in America, calls him "the most notorious liar in the country”and says the SCLC is spearheaded by "Communists and moral degenerates"  

In December of 1964 King receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway and promises every penny of the $54,000 reward will be used for the ongoing civil rights struggle.  

On March 7, 1965,  voting rights marchers are beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma as they attempt to march into Montgomery, Ten days later King and John Lewis lead a march on the same route after a U.S. District judge upholds the right of demonstrator to conduct an orderly march. News coverage and the large crowd that participated makes it one of the most defining moments in his career. 

In August of that year King drew more fire as he denounced the Vietnam War.  

In January 1966 King and his family move to Chicago.  

In 1967 King delivers his speech "Beyond Vietnam" in New York City, demanding the U.S. Take initiatives to end the war. In June his book, ”Where do We Go From Here,” is published.  In December, King announces plans to organize a mass civil disobedience campaign the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C.   

In March 1968, King leads a march of 6,000 protesters in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, which quickly devolves into looting and riots and King leaves the scene. One April 3, King returns to Memphis, determined to lead a peaceful march and delivers “I've Been to the Mountaintop,” his final speech.

The next day, April 4, 1969, King is assassinated while standing on balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He was 39 years old. 

King changed the world and paid the price for it throughout his lifetime. He left much to be done and left us all the challenge to pick up the torch and continue his efforts. 

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” - MLK, Jr.

Thanksgiving a Time of Gratitude that Leads to Service

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

“Thanks are the highest form of thought... gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” 

- G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton’s words kick off my Thanksgiving wish to all this season, that amid the heaps of turkey and gravy, the gatherings of family or friends, that you will experience happiness doubled by wonder.

The path is not steep and it's paved - with gratitude. 

After a year marked by a worldwide pandemic that has led to fundamental changes in the way we live, 2021 has offered hope that things will get better. It has also offered test of our patience, tests on which many have not scored well.  

It’s a good time to remember that the first declaration of an official celebration of Thanksgiving came during an even more trying time - the Civil War. 

It was Abraham Lincoln who finally made Thanksgiving an official holiday inn 1863, one to be celebrated on the third Thursday of November (later moved to the last Thursday of November in 1941.) 

As we take time to celebrate this uniquely American holiday, one which has been marked in various forms on this continent since the late 1500s, we are offered a chance to renew our hearts with gratitude and wonder.

Lincoln’s proclamation reflects the long-observed intent of those who had gone before him as he wrote the holiday would be a time to: 

"Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union." 

This noble purpose of Thanksgiving Day being set aside to praise God for his provision and express our gratefulness for his "deliverances and blessings" and “tender care” for those in need still hold a place for many who will gather with family and friends this week. 

But the most noble purposes of the holiday provide the simple blessings of opportunities for serving those who lack even the most basic of needs, those for whom every day can be a struggle, many of whom live right here in our own community. 

Throughout the year such Anderson County groups as the Haven of Rest, AIM, the Salvation Army, Hope Ministries, Meals on Wheels, Clean Start, the Good Neighbor Cupboard, South Main Chapel and Mercy Center, plus other churches too many to name here and groups working to help those in recovery are committed to turning away from the "national perverseness" of self interest, expressing their gratitude through kindness and generosity to the least of these.  

How we bless those seemingly cannot directly return the blessing is what defines any people. Thanksgiving offers a day to reflect on the level of our personal commitment to make the lives of those around us better. 

Such service often starts with gratitude. 

“Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides. It means that you are willing to stop being such a jerk. When you are aware of all that has been given to you, in your lifetime and the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back.” - Anne Lamott 

Gratitude plows the ground and plants seeds that lead to service of others, which, as Lamott notes, is where joy resides. Most can recall a time when they did an act of service, straight from the heart, with no expectation of any direct profit or reciprocal action. Few things resonate stronger in the heart that such action.

Thanksgiving offers a time to challenge ourselves with the question: “What am I doing to make my community a better place for at least one person other than myself? 

It may be as simple as regularly visit a friend or an elderly relative, seeing to it their needs are not overlooked. It may manifest itself in volunteering at any of the great places already mentioned to serve others, many of whom we don’t know personally, in ways that provide basic needs or support.

Those who are doing for others can deeply understand the sentiment behind Walt Whitman’s quote: “The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him – it cannot fail.” 

Thanksgiving kicks off six weeks of a holiday season which offers multiple opportunities to experience the ultimate gift, that of giving. 

Thankfully, the trend of opening retail stores on Thanksgiving Day for shoppers, with little regard to their employees missing their own family gatherings, is slowly losing ground. Most major retailers who temporarily suspended Thanksgiving sales during the pandemic, have made the practice standard procedure, at least for the time being. 

Three holiday cheers for this step forward toward recognizing the humanity of retail workers.

But the days after Thanksgiving usher in the most difficult of days for our friends, family and neighbors working retail. 

Add to the pressure of long hours and generally below-average wages, irritable shoppers freely express a rude anger reserved for the holiday season on retail workers who are simply trying to deal with the crush of consumers.  

Manifestations of the season of goodwill and cheer often do not find the way to the killing floors of retail establishments. 

They deserve better and each of us can help. The pandemic has left many understaffed as well as facing increased pressure from the return of shoppers after a very weird year. Shoppers need to take a deep breath before entering any store and practice the conscious practice of patience throughout the visit. If you are angry, save the shouting until you are back in your car, where you can turn up the music and release any frustrations that often arise in crowded shopping arenas. 

The reward for such behavior is two-fold. It obviously benefits the tired retail worker expecting the worse from harried shoppers. But it an also be the birth of a more peaceful, centered holiday season for shoppers as well, who start their trips with a sense of gratitude and not a dark cloud of stress.  

Gratitude is the gift that never stops giving. 

Research is conclusive that those who approach life with a sense of gratitude have fewer mental and physical problems, live longer, exhibit less stress, have a stronger immune system, and even handle loss far better than those who do not live life with the recognition that they do indeed have much for which to be grateful. 

How does a person get to that place, a place where gratitude is more than an occasional occurrence?  

The best place to start, according to one study, is to verbally acknowledge those things for which you are thankful every day. 

Not just today.

Those in this study who wrote a daily gratitude list for one full year said the experience profoundly changed their lives. 

Stories of overcoming depression, lowering  blood pressure, and even healing of relationships were common among those who finished the year-long gratitude list project. 

So make your first holiday gift this year one for yourself. Commit to a daily practice of gratitude, verbal or written for the next 365 days. You won't be sorry. 

“Gratitude opens your heart, and opening your heart is a wonderful and easy way for God to slip in.” 

- Ram Dass

I think our sixteenth president would have liked this quote, and encouraged fostering the practice of gratitude this holiday season.

Repeated Vandalism at ACDP HQ Demands Response

By Tonya Winbush, JaCory Cleveland, Salley Palmer Ouellette, Mary Geren/

Anderson County Democratic Party Executive Committee

The Anderson County Democratic Party (ACDP) is saddened to announce that their office was recently vandalized. A police report was filed. 

This is the third incident in 2021 in which the ACDP headquarters has been targeted. Back in the spring, extremist flyers and violent, threatening messages were taped on the front window, and in September, a handwritten note, which also included hate speech, was delivered to the office. 

The current national political climate is filled with vitriol and polarizing rhetoric. However, Anderson is better than this. Members of the ACDP include parents, grandparents, sons, daughters, teachers, nurses, lawyers, doctors, veterans, ministers, and other hard-working Andersonians who have served their city, county, state, and nation for decades.

They have never condoned the use of violence, property destruction, or inflammatory rhetoric toward their GOP counterparts and never will. The January 6 insurrection serves as a painful reminder of the type of domestic terrorism that can occur when good citizens from both parties ignore or condone the actions of radical extremists. 

In an attempt to demonstrate unity and a good example for the Anderson community, members of the ACDP Executive Committee reached out to several local GOP representatives as well as their state party chairman, Drew McKissick. They requested the Republican Party also issue a statement condemning the use of violence, property damage, vandalism, and incendiary language. 

Unfortunately, after being given nearly two weeks to respond, no state level or local Anderson GOP member has issued a formal statement regarding this matter, and the ACDP can no longer wait for the GOP to do the right thing. However, the Anderson County Democratic Party still calls on their Republican counterparts to condemn this behavior. 

While they are dismayed and disappointed by these acts of hate, the ACDP will not stop doing what they have always done, which is working to improve the lives of all Andersonians regardless of their class, race, gender, identity, religion, and yes, political affiliation. The ACDP believes everyone deserves an equitable opportunity to achieve the American Dream and will continue to strive toward that goal. 

If you would like to learn more about the Anderson County Democratic Party, please visit their website at www.andersoncountyscdemocrats.org and follow their Facebook page. 

Tonya Winbush is Chairwoman of the Anderson County Democratic Party; JaCory Cleveland is 1st Vice Chair; 

Salley Palmer Ouellette, 2nd Vice Chair; and Mary Geren, Executive Director

A Day to Thank Our Veterans

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The history of our nation can’t be measured by our wars, but it can be measured by those who fought them. Great conflicts during the first 100 years or so left our soil drenched with the blood or our own soldiers, not to mention those who lost their lives in wars at sea. 

And for the last 140, we have continued to send our soldiers to foreign lands to fight. In World War I it was to answer the call of our allies in Europe, and we sent more than 16 million servicemen and women to defeat Hitler.

We made attempts to stem the rising tide of Communism in Korea and later Vietnam. And in the years that have followed we still have boots on the ground in the Mideast, attempting to salvage some democracy in the region while helping the citizens of those lands fight extremism and terrorism.

Some of these wars were just, others were not. Some we won, some we lost. But today is not a day for political rhetoric. Today we stop and thank the men and women who answered the call of their county. Whether Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines, many of these folks gave up a large part of their life in service to their country. 

I know directly that members of my own family have been fighting in America since at least the time of the revolution. Sometimes they even joined the armed forces. They were the Scottish immigrants here in the Upcountry who opposed the loyalists in the American Revolution and punished the British who threatened their way of life. 

My grandmother’s grandfather, a Confederate soldier, rode home on a horse to his family homestead after more than four years at war. He had been gone so long, and presumed dead, that no one even recognized him. I had great uncles who fought in the Great War. My dad’s oldest brother fought in the European theater, and was captured by the Germans three times (but always escaped). My father just missed Korea during his more than decade of service in the Army and might have been sent as an advisor to Vietnam if hearing problems from his infantry duty had not kept him home.

I just missed Vietnam myself, although many of my close friends did not. 

And in the almost interrupted cycle of wars in the Mideast, many of my friends’ sons have been sent into harm’s way over the past 25 years.  

Today I want to say thank you to them, those who went before them, and to those who served stateside who made the overseas campaigns possible.  

Those of us who never wore a uniform, salute you today for protecting our freedoms. 

So Happy Veterans Day, soldiers. I hope others thank you for your service as well, and that you make time to reflect on why what you did was important.  

And, while I know I am mixing in a bit of Memorial Day sentiment here, the following is a reminder of the 40 million Americans who served their country in uniform. 

American Revolution (1775-1783) 

U.S. servicemembers: 184,000-250,000 (estimated) 

Deaths: 4,435 

Wounded: 6,188 

Last veteran: Daniel F. Bakeman, died in 1869 at age 109 

War of 1812 (1812-1815) 

U.S. servicemembers: 286,730 

Deaths: 2,260 

Wounded: 4,505 

Last veteran: Hiram Cronk, died in 1905 at age 105 

Indian Wars (approximately 1817-1898) 

U.S. servicemembers: 106,000 (estimated) 

Deaths: 1,000 (estimated) 

Last veteran: Fredrak Fraske, died in 1973 at age 101 

Mexican War (1846-1848) 

U.S. servicemembers: 78,718 

Deaths: 13,283 

Wounded: 4,152 

Last veteran: Owen Thomas Edgar, died in 1929 at age 98 

Civil War (1861-1865) 

Union servicemembers: 2,213,363 

Confederate servicemembers: 600,000-1,500,000 (estimated) 

Union deaths: 364,511 

Confederate deaths: 133,821 (estimated) 

Union wounded: 281,881 

Confederate wounded: Unknown 

Last veteran: John Salling, died in 1958 at age 112

Spanish-American War (1898-1902) 

U.S. servicemembers: 306,760 

Deaths: 2,446 (385 in battle) 

Wounded: 1,662 

Last veteran: Nathan E. Cook, died in 1992 at age 106 

World War I (1917-1918) 

U.S. servicemembers: 4,734,991 

Deaths: 116,516 (53,402 in battle) 

Wounded: 204,002 

Last veteran: Frank Buckles, died in 2011 at age 110 

World War II (1941-1945) 

U.S. servicemembers: 16,112,566 

Deaths: 405,399 (291,557 in battle) 

Wounded: 670,846 

Estimated living veterans: 1,611,000 

Korean War (1950-1953) 

U.S. servicemembers: 5,720,000 

Deaths: 54,246 (36,574 in theater) 

Wounded: 103,284 

Estimated living veterans: 2,175,000 

Vietnam War (1964-1975) 

U.S. servicemembers: 8,744,000 (estimated 3,403,000 deployed) 

Deaths: 90,220 (58,220 in theater) 

Wounded: 153,303 

Estimated living veterans: 7,391,000

Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990-1991) 

U.S. servicemembers: 2,322,000 (694,550 deployed) 

Deaths: 1,948 (383 in theater) 

Wounded: 467 

Estimated living veterans: 2,344,583 (2020 estimate, may include veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan)

Charlie Kirk Invitation to Anderson Church, Clemson Dangerous

By Mary Geren

To my dismay, I learned Charlie Kirk will bring his “Critical Racism Tour” to the Upstate next week. He will speak at Clemson University Monday night and Second Chance Church in Anderson Tuesday night.  

Charlie Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA, a radical conservative organization that peddles conspiracy theories and recruits students and “Christians” to help further divide our nation. 

He makes tons of money from propagating mistruths about the 2020 election, the insurrection, the Covid-19 virus and vaccine, climate change, critical race theory, and so much more. Kirk also had the audacity to tweet that he sent 80 buses full of “patriots” to Washington, D.C. on January 6.

Make no mistake; the participants and organizers of the Jan. 6 insurrection are no patriots. They are domestic terrorists and traitors, nothing more or less. 

While people like Charlie Kirk are nothing new in America, I am especially saddened, frustrated, and angered by my alma mater and former pastor’s welcoming of someone so dangerous.  

Kirk attracts radicals who want to actually shoot people like me and any other American who supports truth, democracy, and science. Seriously, an audience member at one of Kirk’s Idaho events asked when they could start killing Democrats.

Although Kirk “denounced” the use of violence, his entire reasoning was based around the concept that using violence would only play into the enemy’s hands, but he never once said shooting Democrats is not the “Christian” or right thing to do. 

Folks, the university I have loved, where I spent a decade of my life as a student and instructor, and the pastor I supported and defended for 15 years are welcoming and elevating a man who amplifies cultism, hate, and the very worst of humanity. 

This is indeed dangerous territory and so irresponsible of Clemson University and Perry Noble, Pastor of Second Chance Church. 

Ultimately, when inviting the Devil into their homes, they should be prepared to sell their souls because that is how these things usually play out. 

Hopefully, the trade-off is worth it to Clemson University and Second Chance Church. They are losing the respect of good Americans from both political parties while aiding and abetting would-be domestic terrorists. 

There is nothing admirable or Christlike about it. We are at an inflection point in America; in fact, we are at war. The two sides, almost evenly divided, are fighting over preserving our republic or allowing the United States to become an autocracy.  

Cultists like Kirk would have us believe they are the ones fighting for true American ideals. But, nothing could be further from the truth. Why do they worship and emulate Trump despite the fact he is the antithesis of Jesus Christ and patriotism?  

They want to be like him, plain and simple. They want the power, money, and following of gullible sheep who will blindly do their bidding. 

Furthermore, they will abandon anyone who gets in their way, including their followers, congregation, family, friends, or the very nation they claim to love, which begs the question:

What does their support of Charlie Kirk say about Clemson University and Second Chance Church? 

Alas, I am ashamed of these leaders who I thought were genuine public servants putting their students’ and church members’ best interests first. Admittedly, I am also ashamed that I was fooled so easily. 

Unfortunately, I was not the only one duped. The time to choose between democracy or fascism is now; however, we cannot have it both ways regardless of our political affiliation. I implore those who believe the United States can and should be a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world and who believe in putting country before party or cult to join me on Team Democracy. 

We desperately need courageous leaders from both parties to step up. This is about so much more than politics.

Mary Geren is a graduate of Clemson University and Anderson. Geren also serves as executive director of the Anderson County Democratic Party, ough this oped represents her personal opinion and may not reflect the opinion of the party.

Opinion: Don't Take Medical Advice from Pastors

Opinion/Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Going to your church’s pastor for medical advice is like going to the dentist to get your car fixed. You might find a dentist who can ably repair your car, but don’t count on it.  

Some pastors have been and continue to be cautious about the surge in the virus, worrying about the health of those in their congregations (they have already preached COVID funerals), and those with whom I have had discussions are doing all they can in the current climate, even though some in their congregations push back.

But I have also heard other pastors who are spreading misinformation, misrepresenting data and ridiculing the best efforts of the scientific community to deal with the pandemic (the accomplishments have been phenomenal given the short period of time), and sadly attaching religious significance or personal spin in ways which do not reflect truth.

Trusting God does not mean hunkering down on messaging which questions the efficacy of proven steps, such as the vaccine and masks, in stemming the tide of the virus and of the new variant(s). Imagine the toll without the vaccine or without the radical steps taken last year to slow this pandemic down. More people have died in the U.S. of COVID than from the Spanish Flu of 1918, making it the deadliest pandemic (in raw numbers) in our country's history. Arguments of deaths being due to other factors are moot. When someone dies of heart disease and many other ailments, there are contributing factors, so to suggest only already sick people are dying from COVID is disingenuous and crafted to fit a narrative that is, even when unintentional, harmful.  

It plays into our culture. There exists an addiction to certainty that craves an absolute black and white views on issues, and the virus is evidence that such lust for a worldview that makes us comfortable and/or gains the approval of our friends or the faces in the crowd. Addiction to certainty is taking a journey to a place you have never been, yet give others minute details and descriptions of things one has yet seen. Presumptive vision is not the same and understanding. 

People struggle with uncertainty, assuming that certainty will chase away fear, but it does not. Prematurely gasping for answers, especially those others might want to hear, without fully understanding events as they unfold, can provide marginal and temporary relief to some. When the outcome turns out differently that which they are so certain of, they regroup and recast what we said before with yet another set of certainties that may or may not hold up as time passes. 

Such meandering can be harmless. But in the case of a worldwide pandemic which has already killed 4.4 million people and is killing roughly 2,000 more daily in the United States, it is dangerous to suggest what is happening is come political-created or media-created reality.  

To suggest the scientific community has been weak on this pandemic is to expose a fundamental misunderstanding of science, which is not based on dogma, but is constantly updating information based on the most up-to-date evidence. 

Sadly, dogma is often the hallmark of pastors in some churches, something which might find a legitimate place setting orthodoxy, but has little place for evaluating such things as medical issues. Unfortunately, many among these church leaders who should reframe from suggesting they are qualified to research such issues with authority, charge on with their opinions and observervations.

Anecdotal taunts of “I had COVID and barely felt anything” or “I don’t know anyone personally who died of COVID” ring hollow. Just because one doesn’t know any of the 38,000 people who died on the highways in the U.S. last year or barks out “I had a car accident and it didn’t kill me” does not diminish facts, no matter how one might seek to twist them.

To suggest that people are still dying and being hospitalized at alarming rates in spite of the vaccine is their creation of a new straw man, one that is as easily blown away as a goose feather.  

There is no way of knowing how many more worldwide would have died without the rapid release and deployment of the vaccine. But after the vaccination became widely available, both cases of the virus and deaths related to it plummeted. It is evident now that nearly all those who are currently contracting the virus and those dying from it , are mostly unvaccinated and those in ICU are almost all unvaccinated.  

Locally, this trend reflects that of the rest of the world.

AnMed reported 147 COVID-19 patients on Friday. 129 of those were either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and 38 were in the ICU. Of the 18 fully vaccinated, only one was listed in the ICU. 

Talk to doctors and nurses who have been treating such patients since last March to get a bigger picture of how serious this virus is and has been.  

AnMed Internist Dr. Wilson Sofley posted this on Facebook late last week: 

“Your local health care workers are trying to help you, our neighbors. We are not part of a vast conspiracy. We do not get paid more if we diagnose a patient with COVID-19 or say they died from COVID-19. We just want our patients and our community to be healthy.” 

No religious notations, no political grandstanding, just a medical professional who wants his friends and neighbors to know: “Multiple well controlled studies have shown that the best way to prevent a COVID-19 infection is to get vaccinated.” 

His message is simply and comes from a place of compassion and concern. So should ours. My hope is more will spread this message, and speak the truth in love to our community, ignoring the loud voices who reject truth. 

Opinion: S.C. Schools Deserve Mask Mandate Option as Virus Surges

Opinion/Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The time is now to reverse the prohibition of mask mandates in South Carolina public schools. 

As S.C.hospitals fill up, cancel elective surgeries and the surge in COVID-19 cases, including children under the age of 10, have pushed the state into the top spot for cases per 100,000, the time for aggressive leadership from Columbia is overdue.

Cases are approaching the numbers seen in the pre-vaccine era in January, with the state now averaging more than 5,000 new cases and a seven-day average of 45 new deaths based on Sept. 8 data.

Meanwhile only 44 percent of eligible citizens (those under the age of 12 remain ineligible) are fully vaccinated in South Carolina. That is 41^st in the nation.  

Anderson County closely reflects statewide trends, with 43 percent of eligible citizens are fully vaccinated. 

The school year has brought a new wave of cases and other frustrations created by quarantines, and school districts remain hamstrung by the state law forbidding the requirement of face coverings.  

In Anderson County close to 1,000 cases of the virus has been reported among students, teachers and staff, and another 3,000 have been quarantined after exposure. This is a major impediment to the goal of a full year of in-person classroom learning.

Not allowing schools to require face masks is a major contributor to the spread of the disease, along with the inability of the schools to require vaccines for all employees.

Research has found that masks are most effective when worn by everyone. Every major medical organization agrees with this finding, but also finds masks are particularly helpful in slowing the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

For the State of South Carolina to remove the option of school districts to require masks is unnecessarily creating tremendous disruption in the public schools. From the health risks of infection to the multi-challenges created for parents when their children are sent home for quarantine, to the absence of teacher in classrooms who daily face exposure to the virus, the problems created by the law are many. 

Statewide more than 17,000 children under the age of 10 have tested positive for COVID-19 since school started this year (up from 1,142 for the same period last year). These numbers do not reflect ages 11-18. Children’s hospitals across the state are struggling to meet the demand for treating such surging numbers. 

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster suggests the decision on students wearing masks at school should be up to parents, an argument which falls apart quickly since all students are already required to get the Mumps, Measles Rubella vaccine before being allowed in the classroom. Schools also require all manner of other social and academic standards, from clothing to course requirements, none of which are left up to parents. To cherry pick face mask requirements is disingenuous and a political stunt and nothing more. 

State Attorney General Alan Wilson successfully defended the policy recently before the State Supreme Court which overruled on district’s challenge to the law.  

Vaccines are still the most potent weapon in the battle, but the COVID-19 vaccine has been removed from the health care discussion and tossed into the realm of political extremism.  

The percentage of those filling hospitals, especially Intensive Care Units, are comprised of more than 85 percent unvaccinated patients. That number is higher in many hospitals. 

Anderson School Dist. 5 is to be lauded for exploring multiple avenues to get employees and eligible students vaccinated by offering financial bonuses. The offers have boosted employee vaccination rates by more than 25 percent and several hundred students have taken advantage of a $100 bonus and received the vaccination. 

Inevitably, the plan faced opposition and public protestors, but most who attended the first event (another is scheduled) were neither parents or grandparents of students in the district and most of the leaders who spoke live outside the district. 

Health care facilities, including AnMed and Prisma, are now requiring vaccinations, or regular testing for those with medical/religious reasons for not taking the vaccine. The “religious exemption” is being exploited in many corners. In the United States, only Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Amish and Scientologists routinely deny some or all mainstream medical health care. Others, such as those who regularly take medications or seek medical attention for other ailments who suddenly decide it’s against their religion to take a vaccine to curb a worldwide pandemic are hard to take seriously. 

Frontline medical workers in doctors’ offices and hospitals are also growing increasingly exhausted and frustrated. Non-vaccinated individuals are the source of overcrowding which threatens the lives of many who need medical care but for whom there is no room in hospitals. Nationally some health officials are advising folks to wear a seatbelt, be cautious about riding your bicycle, avoid any high-risk activities that could lead to an emergency room visit because there is no room at the inn.  

There are currently 125 COVID-19 patients being treated at AnMed, and more than 85 percent of those patients are unvaccinated, including almost all in the ICU.  

Arguments by those who outright reject the vaccine are shallow, self-centered and will contribute to the continued war with the mutating variants of this virus for the foreseeable future. 

South Carolina deserves leadership which is committed to the health of all of its citizens, especially during a virus which shows new signs of spreading faster than at any other point, including the pre-vaccine era. 

Fast action to suspend the provisio forbidding local school districts to make their own decisions concerning mask mandates, could help keep in-person education moving into cold-weather months a sustainable reality, and protect the lives of teachers, students and their families. The move would also send a message of encouragement and support for the stressed-out educators who are trying to offer quality teaching to students while managing a deadly, fast-spreading disease. 

Local governments could be an ally for schools in this effort. The state’s attorney general said the law does not “outright reject the possibility that a local government could impose a mask mandate without contravening Proviso 1.108.” 

Citywide or countywide indoor masks ordinances could extend to all public buildings, including schools, which would provide a way to circumvent the state law which hopefully will be overturned by the courts soon. 

Until then, mask and get vaccinated, and show some compassion for those who are most vulnerable. 

ACDP Committed to Working Together

By Mary Geren

“I think the best of us comes when we are working together collectively. And it doesn't mean that we can't disagree. We've got to learn……to disagree without being disagreeable.”

Martin Luther King III

Recently, I was humbled and honored to be appointed executive director of the Anderson County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee, which is led by Chairwoman Tonya Winbush. This is the second time this summer Anderson Democrats have made history. 

Back in July, we had the most profitable fundraiser in our party’s history when we honored Councilwoman Gracie Floyd and Dr. George West. Our outside gathering of about 300 attendees was one of the most beautiful mosaics of diversity I have ever witnessed in Anderson, South Carolina. This event was possible because as Martin Luther King III said, “The best of us comes when we are working together collectively.”

Now, through more collective hard work, determination, and bold ideas, the ACDP is once again making history…this time with my appointment. Such a move has never been attempted in Anderson, although it has been discussed over the years. Admittedly, we are venturing outside of our comfort zone and daring to blaze a new trail, one that leads us to a more democratic, equitable community. 

As such, Chairwoman Winbush and our entire leadership team are working tirelessly to ensure we are prepared for the 2022 elections and beyond. Alas, this is no easy undertaking, but as Mr. King said, it’s ok to disagree sometimes. However, uniting as one means that we listen to others with an open mind and work until we have found solutions to the injustices surrounding us. This concept should also cross party lines. 

Often, I am asked why I am a Democrat, especially one in South Carolina. There are many layers to that question, but to put it simply, I believe all Americans should have the same opportunities to pursue the American Dream: life, liberty, and happiness. As a scrappy, poor kid from the red hills of Northeast Georgia, the Democratic Party had my back by working to provide me with the tools to pursue my dreams. I want all children to be given those same tools regardless of their skin color, gender, religion, class, zip code, or orientation.

While our party is far from perfect, at the end of the day, we want to help people. Just as the Democratic Party had my back, now it’s time to return the favor, and I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to serve.

So, stay tuned, friends. With the leadership of Chairwoman Winbush, and the rest of our talented and dedicated team, we are sure to get into the best kind of good, necessary trouble. As long as we do this together, we WILL rise. 

Please visit our website, anderson countyscdemocrats.org, or our Facebook page, Anderson County SC Democratic Party, for more information on how you can join our Good Trouble Crusade. 

Be kind; be brave; be you. There’s enough mediocrity in this world. 

Mary Geren is executive director of the Anderson County Democratic Party.