Everyone has an opinion about Silent Sam

Here are the 10 most-read opinion articles from newsobserver.com for August, in order of most readership:

1. “Forget Russia, it’s Democrats trying to undermine democracy,” by J. Peder Zane. “The Trump/Russia probe is, in fact, a long national nightmare. This time it’s not the president but his opponents who are abusing power.”

2. “No, the law doesn’t require Silent Sam to be returned to his pedestal in 90 days,” by Eric Muller. “The law simply doesn’t apply to this situation. On the question of what happens to Silent Sam now that he’s been toppled, we are in a zone that the law simply does not address.”

3. “Julian Carr did wrong, but also a good deal right,” by Peter A. Coclanis. “He contributed to many churches and overseas missions... was a strong advocate of woman’s suffrage, and helped launch the business career of John Merrick, the central figure in the establishment of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.”

4. “Silent Sam is gone. I didn’t expect to feel like this,” by Edwin M. Yoder Jr. “Silent Sam had seemed doomed in recent months as UNC administrators and trustees and the police dithered while the statue was vandalized. Still, it was hard to imagine that this fine work of sculptural art and memory would be surrendered to organized violence.”

5. “Real ID is a hassle. Is it worth it?” by Ned Barnett. “If you need something to think about while waiting in a North Carolina DMV office, don’t blame the agency. Blame the clumsy, rushed law behind the delays. For in many ways Real ID would be better termed Real BI, as in Real Bad Idea.”

6. “If Silent Sam’s fall was illegal, so too was its standing,” by Hampton Dellinger. “UNC Chapel Hill officials knew or should have known that the depiction in the middle of campus of a towering Confederate soldier with his rifle raised and his finger on the trigger violated federal anti-discrimination laws. Put simply, Silent Sam stood illegally while school leaders sat by and did nothing.”

7. “We don’t need to cut state employee benefits,” by Robert Broome. “Blaming state employees and retirees for the unfunded liability is illogical and unsupported by facts. Knee-jerk responses like cutting benefits is not the answer. The right solution is to prudently manage the State Health Plan and retirement system, and that’s exactly what Treasurer (Dale) Folwell is doing.”

8. “UNC faculty: Where is leadership on Silent Sam issue?” signed by 49 UNC faculty members. “Surely a means might be found to recognize the sacrifices of UNC graduates and friends in the too many wars our nation has endured, but a way to memorialize the individuals who made those sacrifices, not the horrible cause in which, sadly, many of them died.”

9. “He was a priest. She was a nun. What they say about the priest scandal,” by Ned Barnett. “One area where the scandals could take a lasting toll is vocations. But Sylvia (O’Connor) said the loss can be countered by widening the door to the priesthood. ‘The call is still there and it’s going to women and married men. All the church has to do is open its eyes to it,’ she said.”

10. “The NC ballot shouldn’t be a riddle. Or a lie,” by The N&O Editorial Board. “Voters would be puzzled by these amendment questions at the end of a long ballot, but (House Speaker Tim) Moore and (Senate leader) Berger welcome that confusion.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 6:09 PM.