‘Get back to county business and stick to it’
EDITOR:
I am writing to express my concerns about the latest “meeting” of the Anderson County Commission where a non-existent “religious resolution” was very loosely “discussed.” This entire process appears to be a clearly staged event allowing a few members of the commission to sneak through a dubious, unethical and perhaps illegal ruling without any public knowledge, debate or input into the situation. First, the as of yet, undefined and unwritten “proposal” apparently seeks to address “religious issues” that the Anderson County Commissioners have absolutely no authority over. The U.S. Constitution clearly states that the church and state are to remain separate entities.
The appearance of the extremely large church congregations (with lots of children in tow) overflowing and dominating the hearing room was somewhat surprising to those who regularly attend commission meetings. Were the children invited to attend for some reason? I have never seen so many children at any public meetings before.
It appeared that the church crowd had been “[bused] in” and was tipped off to get there early and fill the room so others might be blocked from entering the room and/or speaking.
[No one] has answered the question of exactly what this resolution (if enacted) would actually say or do. The verbally stated purpose is to respond to a change in our constitutional rights being discussed by the Supreme Court of the United States. The County Commission seems to be getting way ahead of themselves, let the Supreme Court act first and then respond if you feel the necessity.
Commissioner Tim Isbel, who developed this unwritten “resolution,” chose a pastor to give the opening prayer at the county meeting, just before the Pledge of Allegiance. When the meeting was opened to speakers, the same pastor then returned to the microphone and became the first speaker to address the issue. In fact, three pastors were chosen by Mr. Isbel to start and they spoke in favor of the “resolution.” The problem was that none of the pastors spoke to the issues at hand. Instead, they all gave a sermon quoting lavishly from the Bible, quotes that had no bearing on the issues in discussion. The pastors actually spoke longer than the allotted three minutes but that apparently was acceptable to Mr. Isbel.
Was it just coincidence that Mr. Isbel called on Ms. Myra Mansfield, the head of the Anderson County GOP Committee intended to be the last speaker that night to sum things up?
The timing and balance of pro [and] con speakers appeared to be biased to the pro side as was noted by several later speakers. The entire meeting just seemed a little off or edgy that night and this does not speak well for all the Anderson County publicly elected officials moving forward.
In conclusion, this vague and divisive “proposal” is a total waste of time and effort for the Anderson County commissioners and quite possibly may invite legal challenges to the commission. There are much more important issues that our County Commission should be addressing. I urge you to drop this divisive “resolution” immediately and get back to county business and stick to it.
James J. Wilson
A registered voter in Anderson County
Norris
