I shared this comment today in a Facebook post by Jennifer Watson (a Charlotte friend and community leader) who is sharing helpful graphics (that I’ll include below) about why the three proposed Constitutional amendments in North Carolina on our ballot in November 2026 would all be bad.
Lisa: Your belief that we can never trust government, and we never should, does not take us to a better society or community. The only way we can trust anyone or anything is to have good people serving in government. Part of our task today to Heal Our Culture is to encourage good, ethical, kind, and moral people to serve in government as best they can. There is a tendency of the human heart to be greedy and selfish. This is why we have checks and balances in our Constitutional government system, to try and ensure that government officials and institutions serve the people. The “John Wayne / Ronald Reagan government is the enemy” mantra has done so much damage to our political culture for decades. Rich oligarchs love this, because it makes people angry and want to blame the government rather than try and work together to solve our problems. I hope we can repair and work to heal that, rather than perpetuate it.
Learn more:
https://www.commoncause.org/north-carolina/articles/sboe-rules/
Recommended reading: “How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America” by Heather Cox Richardson (2020)
“The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway (2023)