Dear Editor,
I bid everyone greetings from the little community of Improve. I would like to announce how glad I am that we can now live in peace and harmony till the end of time. That seems to be the message since the state Legislature has recently decided to ignore the voters and make their own decision concerning what banner will be representing our once-great state.
To most of the public it is obvious that there are many more important issues to be dealt with other than the issue at hand. It was understood by the voters in 2001 that the flag issue was settled but obviously not.
So now that our elected officials have surrendered our flag I must wonder what else they will give away. Back in 1840 Mississippi was the third-wealthiest state in the union but that decreased drastically through 1860. Now that you have surrounded our flag, will we again become in the top 10 wealthiest states? I somehow doubt that very seriously.
If we would have continued to teach our history by means of government-mandated public education we may not be where we are today, which is the bottom of the barrel. We spend more money on education than any other state and still rank dead last but maybe that will change now, too.
One thing for certain that will not change with our flag will be the attitude of our younger generation for they have already been brainwashed by the narrative taught today. I grew up around this small community and was among those who went through the desegregation period and have no recollection of the atrocities that supposedly took place.
If a choice must be made as to who disliked desegregation the most, I would have to say it was the blacks though I can recall no major issues. We just kept playing together like we did at home mostly. Nothing new except we were now getting educated together.
But thanks to our flag being changed we can forget everything that happened before. We no longer have a history. We can erase Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and Abe Lincoln along with Robert E. Lee, N. B. Forest and Jefferson Davis. No more Lee Circle in New Orleans and no Martin Luther King Boulevard in every town that has more than one road. It also means no more need to protest for BLM because George Floyd is behind us.
No, quite the contrary I do not support the brutality, whether from the police or the protesters. By far the police incident was less than what the riots produced, which have been several deaths along with beatings, not even counting the destruction of public and private property.
Before pointing out the actions of the police take a good long look at what lead up to the event. No, I am not taking up for the law enforcement in Minnesota for by the evidence produced so far this was unjustified. I am referring only to the aspect of respect for yourself, your follow residents and mostly for authority.
This was one element of respect that was impressed on my behind more than once while growing up. I, not so quickly, learned that once caught in the act or laid evidence of being wrong to accept it without any resistance. When my dad was concerned he had the alien invader opinion that resistance was futile, and he meant it. He carried an instrument of correction with him at all times and was never fearful of deploying. Once mission was complete, he simply laced it back through the loops on his trousers and fastened. It remained poised for immediate deployment in anticipation of the next round of training.
Once good ole Uncle Sam declared corporal punishment unlawful we began training an unlawful and disrespecting new society. Before any type of police reform will be effective there must be a civilian reform that has to begin with taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. If we keep blaming someone else for everything that is wrong, we will change nothing.
To all of our elected officials who chose to ignore the will of the ballot, I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed your time in office for as for myself and many, many, many more I feel your time is short. We constantly preach about our civic duty to cast our vote, but unfortunately you have shown us that our vote is irrelevant. I suggest you take a long look in a mirror if you can stand the sight of a true traitor and convince yourself of how you are going to face the public again. As for those who resisted this action, I give you my respect and appreciation.
Above all, remember that changing the flag only changed the flag hanging on the pole. You can never change the flag of my ancestors nor the one in my heart. I will always have a deep love for our state but sadly I will never have an affection for YOUR flag.
As always I will state that the comments contained in this article are of my own and do not represent any other person or entity.
Kenneth R. McNease
Columbia
