Smoky Mountain News

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter in celebration that the elections are now over.

I will not miss the never-ending supply of politically charged letters and opinions to the editor that have been inundating your publication over the past few months. It’s like having a bad case of poison oak flare up every time there is an election. While I am glad to see my fellow countrymen and women participate in the political process, I am often taken back by the general belief that publishing one’s political views in such a one-sided format has any effect other than irritation to others. 

So it occurred to me, what will the plethora of political one-hit wonder writers do with all their free time until the next election cycle? May I suggest the following: find a worthwhile humanitarian project to support; volunteer at a church, soup kitchen, homeless shelter, nursing home or hospital; cut some fire wood for someone who needs help with heating this winter; collect some can goods and support a local food pantry; be a mentor to some children who might need a positive role model in their life. The list goes on and on.

I have personally found that taking this approach creates a sense of individual responsibility and respect that begins to eclipse the need to focus so boldly on what politicians stand for and more importantly the need to publish such views in a paper. True hope and change begins within ourselves and how we act upon meeting the needs of others. God Bless. 

Kevin Sandefur

Waynesville