Editorial/Shari Johnson, Publisher
Don’t go down that Rabbit Hole Again! That’s what I told myself as I almost clicked on Facebook for the second time. It’s a dangerous trail to be on. I’m not sure if I’ve ever watched Alice and Wonderland, or ever read the book, but the premise of the story reminds me a lot of 2022.
The story centers on Alice, a young girl who falls asleep in a meadow and dreams that she follows a rabbit down a rabbit hole. There was no rabbit this morning that lead me astray but merely my own inability to stay focused. There was not much news to report in Calhoun, nobody was in trouble last night, no disasters Praise God, and I’d already ran the trick or treat story. So I tuned into what the world tunes into for their news, social media.
After more than an hour of chasing that stupid rabbit down the hole I began to wonder why I allowed myself on a perfectly good Sunday morning to get so distracted when I needed to get ready for church. Unlike Alice I was wide awake. It caused me to wonder:
Is Calhoun Woke?
I’m not sure who coined that word, ”woke.” It makes little sense to me that people so out of touch with reality would call themselves woke. According to the defining of the word it means ”alert to injustice in society, especially racism.” And so I wondered, as Alice did, is my beloved County woke? Is there a sect here of wokeness that could take my grandchildren down a rabbit hole of imagination that creates confusion of massive proportion and an inability to understand the realities of life. Such as gender, real racism, and the lines crossed in the realms of education. There is certainly racism. I’ve watched it in Calhoun County. For me to deny it would be stupidity. There are those (although I’ve haven’t met that many) who determines a persons goodness and likability by the color of their skin, neighborhood or family name. Such is the case in every country in the world, every state in the union and every county in said state. Human nature is what it is. Don’t deny it…. just don’t do it.
As I prepare for church this morning, I’m sidetracked on this thought because it breaks my heart.
It’s a bizarre world that my grandchildren grow up in. I’m sure my parents thought the same of the Hippy movement. I know I still do. I grew up in the 70’s. Those years seemed more influenced by the infancy of technology and family bands. There was still an appearance of wholesomeness with the Brady Bunch, Patridge Family and the Osmonds. We didn’t see the wicked things that were happening in Hollywood behind the scenes. But now… good grief. There is nothing concealed from our youth. If it happens in Hellywood, it’s viewed in West Virginia in real time and the influence is way too apparent.
How Woke are We?
Alice went down the rabbit hole into a bizarre world of adventures written in 1865. It was written of course as fiction and viewed by all as totally illogical. Just a fictional tale of fictional characters and events. But now we have children who have convinced themselves (although I find that hard to believe) that they are critters. Also known as Furries. It is said we have a few professing children in Calhoun Schools. I read the other day of a father who’s child came home professing to be a cat; the father told them that he only allowed barn cats on his property, so the child should gather their belongings and go to the barn. Suddenly they were human again. That’s good parenting in my book. It’s probably abusive by the WVDHHR standards.
Is there hope of us Awakening?
In the story of Alice there were uncooperative creatures. There’s a turtle who describes his education in the subjects, ”Ambition, Distraction, Uglification and Derision.” To those who read the story in 1865 that was a comedic twist. Today it is reality! Those subjects are covered in full in modern times and schools, and it’s no joke.
There was a ”hookah smoking Caterpiller.” Was the writer, Lewis Carroll, ahead of his time or what! Substance abuse is in rapid growth across the nation, but if we’re not directly effected by it, we tend to ignore it. Trust me when I say, we have hookah smokers in Calhoun County, whether or not we see it. I looked in the face of multiple parents last night that attended the Trick or Treat events in town and was fairly certain of many users and abusers of substances. Their cutely clad and adorable children were brought up to think was normal. It breaks my heart.
Alice does indeed awaken from her dream, but for us, we’re still living in the nightmare.
For the record, I did make it to church today, and wept the greater majority of the service. Mainly because Dennis Legg’s sermon touched my heart and encouraged my soul to be better. But part of my tears were from the fear of my impact on my community not being enough. It’s not that I think I need to be the one to save Calhoun County from the evils of this earth. I don’t have that power. But I do feel an accountability and quite often a failure of not standing firm enough on the truth of God’s word which is the only pure truth.
While I love the encouragement that I’ve received from people on this venture known as the Ridgeview, I want you to know I do not take your readership lightly. I know all too well that I will stand before God and answer for every word I’ve printed. That’s a scary thought.
But back to the question, ”Is there hope for an awakening in Calhoun?” You betcha! But it is going to take each one of us to stand up against the Cheshire cat and tell him we’re taking our county back to the realm of reality. Uncovering the truth is ugly. And it’s painful. But if we want to live in a safe community, we need to speak up and wake up everyone around us to shine the light on the truth. If we see children in harms way, speak up. If we something just doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not. Just because nobody has questioned somebody before, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen. Never assume everyone has your or your children’s best interest at heart.
A rabbit hole is anything that takes you away from the light.
