Lately, it has been embarrassing to admit allegiance to this great state. Our legislature seems to be about as considerate in their deliberations as a blind dog in a meat house.
Its sexist proclivities couldn't be more apparent. The money being spent to keep Shannon Faulkner out of The Citadel estimated to be more than $5 million in legal fees and the Converse compromise could have been better spent on dropout prevention, family planning or low-income child care all of which suffered cuts this session in South Carolina.
Not to be discriminatory, the legislature made it clear that women's sensibilities are just as insignificant as those of blacks in this state. The Confederate flag, for the first time since the War of Northern Aggression, has the legislative cover it needs to withstand a court challenge.
Just so there is no mistaking this legislature for one that cares about anything that looks even slightly progressive, it went along with the governor's plan to keep the Barnwell nuclear dump open probably for the next decade.
What may mark this legislative session as being among recent history's most horrific is that there was no debate, public hearings or even a vote on these three legislative issues. Instead, they were slipped into the budget bill and passed without being considered on their own merits. It is underhanded tactics like these that spell out the need for eternal vigilance on the part of the progressive community.
In spite of a professed promise to "return government to the people," there is nothing democratic in the way this Republican-led administration is conducting its business. In this issue, POINT reviews some of the fallout from the legislative session. The good news is that it's finally over. The bad news as that now it's time to undo the damage.
If you're as stubborn and romantic as we are, you will see this as a time of challenge. Don't mourn organize!
© Copyright by POINT, 1995
Last modified 7/9/95
