Time for Both South Carolinas to Push for Success



Friday’s editorial (provided by The State) urges the state to use the Civil War anniversary as an impetus to pull together rather than pull apart.

While it should be crystal clear to anyone who would read the secession delegates’ official explanation for their actions with an honest eye that slavery was the only reason South Carolina parted ways with the United States in 1860, it’s also quite clear that our state’s way forward isn’t by spending an inordinate amount of time, money or resources looking backward, especially if the intent is to celebrate.

What’s there to celebrate? Certainly not this state’s obvious desire to continue slavery or the resulting Civil War or the more than 600,000 who died. We should commemorate and even mourn the devastating loss of lives and recognize the righteous emancipation of slaves. Many educational and enlightening discussions can and should be had.

But it’s paramount that we not use this four-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War simply to rehash this country’s most tragic war but instead to offer a mature, reasonable 21st century response. Many of the ills that consume our state today have their roots in the Civil War. Instead of simply revisiting that awful war, let’s turn our collective focus to trying to undo the damage that slavery, secession and the war wreaked on this state.

Ensuring that our children graduate high school and are ready to go to work or college didn’t just now become a challenge in South Carolina. Our rural areas didn’t just plunge into despair because of the current economic slump – or even because busy boll weevils devastated cotton crops in the 1920s.

Prior to 1860, South Carolina – bolstered by the ill-gotten gain from the institution of slavery – was the richest state in the nation. Slaves themselves constituted wealth, and slaves gave the land its value. It stands to reason that when they were emancipated, the state would fall into poverty.

Ever since, this state has struggled to regain its footing. It has yet to find a way to bring all its people together to pull in the same direction – toward prosperity. There is prosperity in spots, but it’s more than counter-balanced by sprawling pockets of deep poverty and need.

For far too long, our tiny state has really been two. The two South Carolinas are diametrically opposed: one rich and one poor, one white and one black, one rural and one urban, one educated and one uneducated.

Following the Civil War, South Carolina continued to rely on a labor-intensive economy. We skimped on education in order to keep people working the land and then, when textiles arrived, to keep the mills humming. For generations, our state deliberately withheld even the chance for a quality education from the masses. Little wonder our state lacks the wealth to meet the many needs of our people. We find ourselves struggling now to raise up an educated, skilled work force that will lure high-tech and knowledge-based industries to our state.

Our rural areas have struggled mightily; they suffer from a lack of infrastructure, poor education systems, a dearth of skilled workers and little or no economic development. Their best and brightest grow up and leave, never to return.

Until we address the gross inequalities – these vestiges of slavery, secession and the Civil War – we never will reach our true potential. It will take the intellect, talents and wherewithal of all South Carolinians for our state to truly rise again – the right way.

The long-standing problems South Carolina grapples with are further exacerbated in this sluggish economy. Our house is crumbling. Revenue has plunged, funding for agencies and schools has been cut deep into the bone, unemployment is high, children lack needed health care, our drop-out rate is worrisome, there are far too many vulnerable children and far too few case workers to look after them. Prisons and other vital agencies don’t have the money to perform their missions completely or safely.

While we should commemorate the Civil War, we must not blow it out of proportion or allow it to drive even more wedges between our people. Our past must not be allowed to overshadow our present opportunity or dictate our future success.

This anniversary gives us a fresh opportunity to begin addressing the ills that too long have been with us. The proper response to secession and the Civil War is for sons of slave owners and sons of slaves to come together to rebuild, redirect and resurrect South Carolina. Who will lead the effort? Who has the courage to address these long-standing, complex problems? Will it be Gov.-elect Nikki Haley or the legislature or the business community or an empowered, active citizenry?

It will take us all working together, moving outside of our comfort zones in our personal, professional and public lives to seize this moment and forge but one South Carolina – one no longer divided by race, political party or socio-economic status. If the stark differences between the haves and have-nots go unaddressed, this state will not thrive. If all this state’s people aren’t treated with respect and dignity and given every opportunity to succeed, we collectively won’t succeed.

Just as South Carolina’s secession from the union changed the course of history, we today are at another pivotal point in history. But the question today isn’t whether we should secede. It’s whether we will succeed.

 

But it’s paramount that we not use this four-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War simply to rehash this country’s most tragic war but instead to offer a mature, reasonable 21st century response. Many of the ills that consume our state today have their roots in the Civil War. Instead of simply revisiting that awful war, let’s turn our collective focus to trying to undo the damage that slavery, secession and the war wreaked on this state.

Ensuring that our children graduate high school and are ready to go to work or college didn’t just now become a challenge in South Carolina. Our rural areas didn’t just plunge into despair because of the current economic slump – or even because busy boll weevils devastated cotton crops in the 1920s.

Prior to 1860, South Carolina – bolstered by the ill-gotten gain from the institution of slavery – was the richest state in the nation. Slaves themselves constituted wealth, and slaves gave the land its value. It stands to reason that when they were emancipated, the state would fall into poverty.

Ever since, this state has struggled to regain its footing. It has yet to find a way to bring all its people together to pull in the same direction – toward prosperity. There is prosperity in spots, but it’s more than counter-balanced by sprawling pockets of deep poverty and need.

For far too long, our tiny state has really been two. The two South Carolinas are diametrically opposed: one rich and one poor, one white and one black, one rural and one urban, one educated and one uneducated.

Following the Civil War, South Carolina continued to rely on a labor-intensive economy. We skimped on education in order to keep people working the land and then, when textiles arrived, to keep the mills humming. For generations, our state deliberately withheld even the chance for a quality education from the masses. Little wonder our state lacks the wealth to meet the many needs of our people. We find ourselves struggling now to raise up an educated, skilled work force that will lure high-tech and knowledge-based industries to our state.

Our rural areas have struggled mightily; they suffer from a lack of infrastructure, poor education systems, a dearth of skilled workers and little or no economic development. Their best and brightest grow up and leave, never to return.

Until we address the gross inequalities – these vestiges of slavery, secession and the Civil War – we never will reach our true potential. It will take the intellect, talents and wherewithal of all South Carolinians for our state to truly rise again – the right way.

The long-standing problems South Carolina grapples with are further exacerbated in this sluggish economy. Our house is crumbling. Revenue has plunged, funding for agencies and schools has been cut deep into the bone, unemployment is high, children lack needed health care, our drop-out rate is worrisome, there are far too many vulnerable children and far too few case workers to look after them. Prisons and other vital agencies don’t have the money to perform their missions completely or safely.

While we should commemorate the Civil War, we must not blow it out of proportion or allow it to drive even more wedges between our people. Our past must not be allowed to overshadow our present opportunity or dictate our future success.

This anniversary gives us a fresh opportunity to begin addressing the ills that too long have been with us. The proper response to secession and the Civil War is for sons of slave owners and sons of slaves to come together to rebuild, redirect and resurrect South Carolina. Who will lead the effort? Who has the courage to address these long-standing, complex problems? Will it be Gov.-elect Nikki Haley or the legislature or the business community or an empowered, active citizenry?

It will take us all working together, moving outside of our comfort zones in our personal, professional and public lives to seize this moment and forge but one South Carolina – one no longer divided by race, political party or socio-economic status. If the stark differences between the haves and have-nots go unaddressed, this state will not thrive. If all this state’s people aren’t treated with respect and dignity and given every opportunity to succeed, we collectively won’t succeed.

Just as South Carolina’s secession from the union changed the course of history, we today are at another pivotal point in history. But the question today isn’t whether we should secede. It’s whether we will succeed.