It was in the late 1970’s when I started writing Conservative editorials to the local print media. After serving as Secretary to the Republican Party in Union County, NC, I was elected in 1979 as Chairman of the UC GOP.
In the earlier days, registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans by about ten (10) to one (1) in voter registration. Union County Republicans voted sparingly in primary elections, which usually allowed the activist to choose our GOP nominees. Then and now on General Election days, the registered Republicans turn out massively voting for GOP nominees. The local Democrats use to joke about the UC GOP was to hold our County Conventions in a telephone booth; not any more! It has almost reversed on the Democrat Party.
In all my editorials, I address “Judeo-Christian Values” and/or “political issues and/or views” and refuse to make any personal attacks on any subjects relating to others’ personal life. Before becoming disabled, my editorials were limited to from 200 to 300 words. In 1997, I suffered my first heart attack, had my fourth back surgery in 2000, my second heart surgery in 2002 followed by a stroke which left my brain vocabulary “absolutely blank”, along with a few other more minor disabilities, and then as recently as October 31, 2007, I had a defibrillator implantment into my chest. Since my total disability, I have received many Blessings from God in recovery. Additionally, by the advice of my Speech Therapist, I was instructed to continue to read and write more and more. With that, I often submit a longer “Commentary” along with a much shorter “Editorial” version related to the extended issue as expressed.
In the late 1970’s and earlier 1980’s, we in Union County had the “Marshville Home” (now the “Home News” in Marshville, NC), the “Southeast News” (no longer publishing) in Indian Trail, NC while covering the Matthews, Mint Hill, Stallings, and Indian Trail area, the “Charlotte Observer”, and the “Enquirer Journal” in Monroe, NC. While the “Marshville Home” and the “Southeast News” would print almost all of my editorials, the “Charlotte Observer” would print some editorials; the Monroe “Enquirer Journal” would not print any of my publications. We in Union County now have an added excellent weekly, “The County Edge”.
Even in the late 1970’s, we knew we had a message the massive numbers would welcome if we just had a way to communicate with the voters. Some of this changed in the early 1980’s with the addition of Reporter Gene Stowe of the then new “Union Observer” (now the “Neighbors of Union”, part of the local “Charlotte Observer”), a change in the Managing Editor at the “Enquirer Journal”, and the purchase of Jim “The Fox” Reddish of radio station “WIXE”. All of these changes allowed avenues for Conservative Republicans to communicate through the media to the citizens of Union County.
We just closed an Election on November 6, 2007 with two important issues to vote “For” or “Against” at hand. This follows a 2006 General Election with many candidates and issues. For more than one year and through two elections, I have been prohibited by the Monroe, NC “Enquirer Journal”, my local oldest newspaper, from addressing my political views to the Union County, NC electorate on these two elections through their readers.
On one of these issues and earlier this year, Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Anson) introduced and pushed his legislation through the Democrat controlled NC General Assembly which was opposed by all other local legislators as well as all the affected Union County, NC Commissioners on the election process of UC Commissioners. The voters of Union County soundly defeated Representative Pryor’s newly passed legislation on November 6. It appears Rep. Gibson has elected to become more dictatorial to the legislative issues than representative to the issues of the day. His reason was for a “minority” to be elected on the UC Commission. Current US Census numbers would not support his claim, so he used outdated Census numbers. What else will Rep. Gibson do to misrepresent any civilized society?
Any legislator, at any level of government, who will misuse the facts and numbers concerning any issue to protect his/her own political interest, is not protecting the “minority interest” but in fact, is demeaning the “majority” within the issue. That is dangerous to a free society.
In some instances, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Just as prior to the late 1970’s or early 1980’s, my access as a political editorialist to the “Enquirer Journal” has been denied, as I said earlier, through two elections.
For some unknown reason, I have failed to ascertain from the Managing Editor of my local oldest newspaper, the Monroe, NC “Enquirer Journal”, as to why publication of my political editorials have stopped. On July 10, 2006, in an e-mail, I wrote to the Monroe “Enquirer Journal”….. “Is it my bad breath? Is it my body odor? Have I offended one or more of you, or am I just black-balled in print within the EJ”?
After failing to receive a response within some two weeks, I telephoned the Managing Editor asking why he had stopped publication of my editorials. With that, the Editor printed an older editorial, which was out of date for the then publication. The stoppage of my publications continued. I started sending the editorials to the Publisher. The Publisher sent me an e-mail telling me to stop sending my editorials to his e-mail address. Even today, I continue to mail all my writings to the Monroe “Enquirer Journal” Editor, “The County Edge” which publishes almost all, the “Home News”, the “Neighbors of Union”, and the “Charlotte Observer” which prints some of the editorials, while the “Enquirer Journal” Managing Editor or someone there has blocked my editorializing on all the issues of the day. Others such as the “North Carolina Conservative”, “The Conservative Voice”, and several other newspapers across America print most of my publications.
I find this quite interesting as Paxton Media Group, LLC, Paducah, KY. owns the “Enquirer Journal”. The Paxton Media Group is referred to in the media as a Conservative organization. What has gone wrong in Monroe, NC?
Why have the local daily newspaper editorial management at the Monroe, NC “Enquirer Journal” silenced my political voice? The First Amendment of the US Constitution should operate between the free press and the communities, so long as there are “no” personal attacks, “no” other falsified reports, “no” vulgarity, and/or “no” other illegal activities.
Whenever any member of the media will allow his/her own personal political self-interest to perceptibly disallow or even shadow the opposition views of the facts and numbers concerning any issue is even more dangerous to our open society and damaging to our “freedom of the press”.
For any “free humanity to survive”, we must have open government of a lawful two party political system and all authority must be based on Judeo-Christian values. For any “free society to thrive”, the “freedom of speech” must not be limited to anything less than a two-way street.
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!” — Patrick Henry
Our founders foresaw it, they wrote it, they taught it, and they practiced just as they lived it. How amazing the “Wisdom” they received from our Creator!
God Bless America!
No comments:
Post a Comment