Thanks for such a great run of show-stopping play and sportsmanship, Lady Gamecocks | Opinion
Thanks, ladies
Thank you, Lady Gamecocks, for all the excitement and joy, sitting on the edge of my couch, then jumping up and down cheering for you.
We enjoyed every time you stepped on the court.
Thanks for the memories.
Louise Lesemann, Columbia
Beware repeat patterns
The following quote, describing Nazism in Germany prior to and during WWII, comes from a book titled “The Nazi Conspiracy” written by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch, “Built on a twisted form of extreme patriotism, it’s fueled by racial hatred, mass propaganda, conspiracy theories, the demonizing of minority groups, and the cult of personality around a narcissistic leader. Under the influence of this ideology – plus the ruthless political party that promotes it – a country that formerly embraced democratic values has turned toward authoritarianism, hatred, and violence.”
If we aren’t vigilant about protecting our democracy these words could describe the United States in the near future.
We would be wise to heed the oft repeated quote from George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Lewis Huffman, Columbia
Respect needed
Increasing salaries is a step in the right direction to retain and recruit more teachers, but it does not address the heart of the issue.
Educators spend years studying to become professionals in their field and deserve to be treated like professionals.
Lawmakers and leaders cannot continue to ignore the voices of educators and expect them to be satisfied with their work.
Increasing teacher pay is one part of a larger problem: the need to increase respect for classroom teachers.
Danielle Ann Verwers, Columbia
Bullies hurt everyone
A recent McClatchy article “‘Relentless’ bullying,” (April 3) exposed a safety issue that parents must worry about daily. Bullying is a behavior that is easy to commit and comes with little to no consequences.
Aristotle ranked moral education as a priority of education, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
Parents and educators are responsible for educating their children’s hearts. We should not only blame the bullies.
Why do bullies bully? Are they lacking love from family? Do they think it unfair that their victims have a loving family, athleticism, and everything materially that they do not?
Bullying not only hurts the victims, but also causes damage to those who witness the behavior. The 13-year-old victim in the article reminded me of some of my friends’ children who have been bullied in school. They worry about everything that possibly could catch the bully’s attention such as their clothes, hair, lunch and grades.
Jun Yin, Bluffton
No Mow May
Did you know that there can’t be birds without “bugs,” the little things that run the world?
These are precarious weeks when our land birds are raising babies in their nests. We can ease their efforts to find food.
Little known, but over 90% of these bird species feed insects to their young who desperately need the protein and fat to survive. That even includes nectar-loving hummingbirds.
Flies, beetles and crickets are on the menu. Caterpillars are the best.
It takes more than 5,000 caterpillars to fledge a nest full of Carolina chickadees. What can we do to ensure survival?
We can stop spraying pesticides randomly on our plants and ground, killing the insects the birds need to survive as well as ground-nesting native bees, our champion pollinators.
Also, consider joining “No Mow May,” a national initiative supported by many U.S. community governments and private landowners. This is a project to increase awareness of the vast importance of bugs. Yes, bugs!
Debby Boots, HHI
