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Published: Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2009 / Updated: Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 11:18 AM

This is embarrassing

Dear Editor,

I'm embarrassed to be living in South Carolina these days.

Our governor is a disgrace. He lies, cheats and won't listen to members of his own party.

Joe Wilson is truly a disgrace. His behavior was inexcusable. What must children think – that it is OK to interrupt your teacher or talk back to your parents?

I thought our elected officials were people our kids should look up too. Acting the way he did in a rare and needed meeting of our nation's leaders on prime time national TV set a horrible example of how to get things done. I wonder how much he has contributed to the debate in a civil manner versus the way he attempted on the House floor.

Some schools didn't allow children to watch the President of the United States of America on TV when he was specifically talking to them and trying to inspire them. Would you rather have the governor do that? Maybe a pro football or basketball player?

What is wrong with us?

We have become so partisan that we've forgotten that would should respect our leaders and have our children strive to be like them. I was raised in a totally different time. My parents watch all political TV events and then discussed their views in front of us. This is just plain stupid, partisan behavior by the school districts. I guess that's what you get for electing school boards – politics instead of leadership.

All the town halls that got out of hand and had screaming and shouting set another fine example for our kids. I guess you can't have a conversation with anyone anymore. It's a battle to see who can shout the loudest. It's no wonder we end up with such poor candidates for politics. The smart ones realize they can't be heard above the screaming and shouting anymore.

The out and out lies being broadcast, published and reported are unbelievable. Is exaggerating everything to the point where it has actually become a lie the only way to influence the public these days? No, probably not. If you are rich or powerful, you hire a lobbyist or donate a few million dollars though the various loopholes.

I think our inside voices used to matter once upon a time. Now it's lobbyists and big donors that get the final say. At least there are lobbyists on both sides of many issues so maybe it balances out, but I doubt it.

I'm embarrassed and hope we can get back to the days when people talked, exchanged ideas, argued their points and then compromised on the best solutions. All this was done by people we may have agreed or disagreed with but we felt they were doing the best they could and we looked up to them.

Chuck Harrell

High Ridge Court

Indian Land