Thread: NC: How to quit worrying and begin writing

Some of you may remember this editor from when he worked for the Mount Airy News (now back at the Yadkin Ripple). He still does not get it. Most of the commentary is not related to illegal immigration, but please note his one point (in bold in the article below) "Why there remains so much ignorance and bigotry when it comes to accommodating our newest generation of Americans, our Latino neighbors?"

Please comment on his editorial as you have time. Maybe eventually he will understand the problem.

How to quit worrying and begin writing

Published:
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 12:04 PM EDT

People often tell me that I worry too much. They are especially quick to point out time and again that I worry about things that I cannot change or control. Perhaps they are correct and I should spend more time reciting The Serenity Prayer and less time listening to National Public Radio report the latest hundreds of thousands in casualties in the tragic and incalculable natural disasters in Burma and China.

"Yes, very sad," a friend told me this week. "Something that we can't really relate to . . . But what are you doing to do? All we can do is pray and be thankful for our own good fortunes."

Very well-intentioned advice, but it just doesn't cut it for me. I'm a born worrier. And more importantly, have an unrelenting sense of intellectual curiosity that is not easily satisfied. A large portion of that comes with the territory of a reporter. But I tend to think my worries have been around for much longer, dating back to the days when my father used to drag me to one of his innumerable government meetings or community gatherings. On the way home, whether dad was trying to preserve a portion of The New River or helping minorities find a way out of their dilapidated housing, my worrying patterns took on a more global perspective.

And since it appears that I will always be burdened (if in fact that is the correct terminology) with this obsessive-compulsive disorder, I decided to take an inventory in a matter of speaking. At the risk of sounding like I'm regurgitating some advice from Dr. Phil, I put together a shortlist of topics that seem to dominate my thinking. In other words, here are a few of my favorite worries:

- Living in a county poised for growth, but lacking the adequate planning and infrastructure to move it into the 21st century.

- Watching politicians use the divisive issue of sectarian prayer to scare voters into believing that our elected officials were intent on voting out prayer in our county offices and public schools.

- Wondering why a county that proudly harvests tobacco, a well-known carcinogen, seems to have such a problem with the sale of alcohol?

- How our public schools, which do the best with limited resources but continue to lose educators to higher paying cities and counties, will prepare our students to compete in colleges, universities and the global economy.

- Why there remains so much ignorance and bigotry when it comes to accommodating our newest generation of Americans, our Latino neighbors?

- How political candidates, who often know little about the governmental process and say whatever it takes to get elected, become our so-called "leaders?"

- How we can retrain a whole generation of unemployed workers, who through no fault of their own, have been laid off from a factory job after some corporate fat cats decided to move their jobs abroad?

- Why so many readers profess to want only the "good news," but are the first to read a sensational political or crime story, especially when it involves someone they know?

- A growing trend in the newspaper industry that seems more concerned about the bottom line than editorial content.

- The "silent majority" that claims to be in favor of increased taxes to pay for more services, but fails to vote or attend county commissioners' meetings.

- A large group of Yadkinians who never bother to travel beyond the Yadkin River, preferring instead to remain ignorant of events beyond their backyard, perpetuating the ridiculous adage by a former county commissioner that "If you're going to live in Yadkin County, you've got to think like Yadkin County."

- Ongoing political apathy that extends well beyond the county's border, but is especially sad when it comes to critically important races like the recent May 6 primary.

- A profound lack of understanding and acknowledgment of how mental illness affects 1 in 5 Americans.

- Questioning why God, in his infinite wisdom, continues to allow so much human suffering.

- A lack of compassion, myself included, for those less fortunate than myself. More than all the others combined, I think this is my greatest worry. For as President John F. Kennedy once said "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

Those are a few of my worries. Of course, there is one major oversight. Failing to meet deadline and completing this . . .

Andy Matthews is the Editor of The Yadkin Ripple. He lives in East Bend.

http://www.yadkinripple.com/articles...als/edit01.txt

i don't believe he has a Clue as for people personel freedoms and rights of Citizenship . Welcome ALL Latinos , legal and Illegal while Ford invests and move to Mexico . Can't have it both ways Mr.Fence sitter . Either your American or your What Ever ! What Ever's don't count . Those people in that little town that you came down on for being Yadkin County folks have all the right in the world to this Stupid feeling as i interpret your ranting .

sent in three comments. We'll see if they get posted by the newspaper.