Johnston County board is trying to whitewash history and gaslight students

Teaching CRT

Regarding “Johnston County passes anti-CRT rules on teaching race,” (Oct. 2):

The push by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners to prohibit any teaching of Critical Race Theory will prove detrimental.

Educators should be teaching how various social factors play into American culture both currently and historically while encouraging students to develop critical thinking and analysis skills.

News of racial and gender injustices are prominent in the media today, leaving students with many questions. These students deserve answers; they want to understand what is going on and why.

Denying teachers the opportunity to answer these questions and encouraging the whitewashing of American history is essentially gaslighting our youth.

Victoria Christie, New Bern

Impartiality

The Sept. 30 editorial about N.C. Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr.’s guest appearance at a partisan fund-raising event was eye-opening. I discovered that as a member of my county’s Board of Elections, I am subject to more stringent policies regarding public displays of partiality or partisanship than N.C. Supreme Court justices.

Statue 163-39 in the 2019 Edition of Election and Related Laws and Rules of North Carolina states that I can face dismissal if I “make written or oral statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates for public office.” The same applies to publicly endorsing “one or more clearly identified referendum proposals.” And while I can write a personal check to support a candidate, I cannot “solicit contributions for a candidate, political committee, or referendum.”

I understand that we all carry our party affiliations with us. But the restraint demanded by these statues is more than a reminder of our duty to impartiality, whether that be as election officials or judges. It is a practice. Just like any other skill you want to maintain or improve, you practice it.

Deborah Hooker, Clayton

Entitlement

The $3.5 trillion social infrastructure package would clearly benefit many Americans across all socioeconomic strata. Given this fact, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin is concerned that this much spending encourages an “entitlement mentality.”

In contrast, on the opposite side of the coin — revenue and taxes — Manchin holds a different view as regards wealthy individuals and corporations who emphatically embody a sense of entitlement. These selfish moneyed interests, whose lawyers and lobbyists shape tax legislation, are vehemently resisting any rollback of the grotesque tax cuts they received in 2017.

Fortune 500 companies, including their artful use of tax breaks and loopholes, now pay an effective tax rate in the range 11 to 12%. Manchin seems to have little concern with the “entitlement mentality” of the 1% in this country. Shame on him.

James P. Witeck, Apex

UNC, antisemitism

Regarding ”UNC joins Hillel International to fight campus antisemitism,” (Sept. 26):

It is gratifying to learn that UNC “rejects and deplores antisemitism” and will learn “best practices for cultivating a positive campus climate (for) all students.”

In 2019, UNC and Duke co-hosted a conference that began with a performer inviting the audience to help him be antisemitic. This fall, UNC is employing a PhD student to teach a course called “The Conflict Over Israel and Palestine.” In now deleted social media posts this instructor has made references to “Zionist dirtbags” and stated that there is “only one side” (the Palestinian side) of the complex Middle East conflict.

If UNC wants to combat antisemitism, I suggest it start with its own programs.

Marcia B Harris, Raleigh

Retired director, UNC Career Services

GOP in 2024

Why would any GOP voter want Trump to be their candidate in the next presidential election given that he has never been a majority president nor a competent leader? Worst of all, he violated his oath of office by trying to overturn an election. Certainly the GOP could nominate a better candidate than Trump, such as Liz Cheney who cares about our country’s democracy instead of herself.

Don Haines, Fuquay-Varina