Charity Comes from the Heart and Not from Laws | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: Our most prolific contributor, Diane Rufino, will have her uncharacteristically short editorial published in the Greenville Daily Reflector in the next few days as a response to another opinion piece published in that same publication by Etsil S. Mason of Farmville, North Carolina. Mrs. Rufino is certainly doing her part to further President Obama's, and all Democrats', desire to countinue our "national discussion on race."

    Located directly below Diane's short op-ed is Ms. Mason's Opinion regarding Shirley Sherrod.

    As a human being, I am touched at the virtues that Shirley Sherrod came to embrace. I am thankful that her lesson is the one we are talking about instead of the divisive stories of racial finger-pointing and accusations. While Ms. Sherrod admits that she saw the destitute farmer as "a white man" who wasn't deserving of her efforts, the ultimate lesson is that she realized how wrong that fleeting thought was and took steps to overcome such feelings. She is an example of how the heart can soar when it is freed from the bonds of hatred and ill-will. I read a letter in my local paper by Ms. Etsil Mason of Farmville who wrote of Ms. Sherrod's speech. Aside from her message of overcoming personal racial biases, Ms. Sherrod went on to say that if you have "made it," then you must reach back to help others behind you. Her message echoes the same one delivered by Shirley Chisholm. The thrust of Ms. Mason's letter was that we should embrace the notion of helping others once we have "made it."

    Indeed, charity is a wonderful thing and the God that teaches us to live our lives as Jesus did, in service and with charity towards our fellow human beings, certainly smiles when we live our lives with such dedication.

    My problem is when our government tries to get into the business of legislating charity. As a citizen of a nation that was founded on fundamental liberties, including the right to property and the pursuit of happiness, and the Equal protection of such by our government, as well the notion that government is to remain unobtrusive in our lives, I condemn our government for trying to regulate this noble and "religious" quality by mandatorily taking so much from some and giving it to others. It is abhorrent to me that our government tries to do an end run on an inherent human quality through laws designed to achieve a redistribution of wealth and comfort. According to Thomas Jefferson, intellectual achievements, choice of career, and business reputation, including the successes that come with each, are all examples of one?s property and are to be protected and not re-distributed.

    Let charity flow from the heart, where it was meant to derive.


    Here below is Ms. Mason's opinion piece to which Mrs. Rufino responded.

Sherrod’s Story Has Needed Lesson

    I saw the Shirley Sherrod clip on CNN and thought, “Why was she telling black people to short-change whites? Fortunately, I took the time to go to the NAACP website. The speech given by Sherrod was there. I listened to the entire talk. She told of her own prejudice when a white farmer asked for her help. Sherrod passed off his problem to a white attorney because he would be with “his kind.” Sherrod told how her life and attitude were changed when she realized that the attorney was not interested in helping him because he was poor. When the farmer was about to be evicted, she took up his case again. The white farmer states it was her efforts that saved his farm.

    Sherrod said the issues facing us are based on poverty. Poverty separates all of us: blacks, whites and Hispanics. Her plea is that we all work together to solve the difficult problems in our communities. She goes on to say that if you have “made it,” then you must reach back to help others behind you. Sherrod reminded me of another Shirley I heard speak in Greenville many years ago. The indomitable Shirley Chisholm had the same message.

    The significance of this latest so called news event is two fold: We must not listen to half truths, to people who extract a phrase and twist its meaning. We have allowed ourselves to be caught up in the ugliest sin of all “bearing false witness.” The message carried by Shirley Sherrod and Shirley Chisholm is one of coming together in the true spirit of brotherhood to lift and heal our community and nurture all children. We cannot allow the hate that twisted the words of Shirley Sherrod to stand.

Etsil S. Mason, Farmville