To The Editor:
The events of recent weeks in Latta have catapulted our small town into the national spotlight bringing much attention to an otherwise quiet and relatively peaceful southern town. The citizens of Latta stand in judgment before a watchful and interested public eye as to who we are as a people. But the verdict of our true nature and character rests not in the strife and contention of an unfolding saga of events that seemed to never end. The truth is found in a story that continues to be told in how we rise up from our misfortune and adversity in order that our true nature may be evident to all. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us.” Hopefully, we will strive to look deeper into the hearts of one another than what our lives reveal – not in judgment and condemnation, but in the knowledge that we all want what is best for our town. Seemingly insurmountable problems and challenges often bring great opportunities for change and progress. The people of Latta can now strive to be a city on a hill letting our light shine before others so that the world around us may see our good works and give glory to God (Matthew 5:14b, 16, my paraphrase). Or, we can be known as a contingent of people with bigoted, divisive attitudes that will always stand as a hindrance to what life can be and what God wills for us as a united people. The choice is before us. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, “Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” May our vision for the possibilities that await us be our clarion call to go forward from where we now stand with the knowledge that God alone is our true Judge of who we are as a people.
Paul Gasque
437 West Main Street
Latta, S.C. 29565
