There’s so much to like and dislike about life I made a list. Here it is. What’s on yours? | Opinion
When I was a college freshman, a professor assigned my philosophy class to read “The Strawberry Statement,” a book by a college student, James Simon Kunen, about problems he saw as endemic in America. I never forgot the eclectic lists Kunen had in his book of the things he liked and disliked.
His likes included “tremendous record-setting snowstorms, swimming underwater, nice policemen, extra-inning ball games.” His dislikes included “calling people consumers and G.I. Joe Dolls. Also racism, poverty and war. The latter three I’m trying to do something about.”
I reread “The Strawberry Statement” recently, and in a time of uncertainty, I decided to make my own lists of likes and dislikes. The exercise was therapeutic.
My likes include Aretha Franklin’s music; anything J.D. Salinger, William Faulkner or James Baldwin wrote; meteors; Van Morrison singing “On the Bright Side of the Road”; skipping rocks at least six skips; the things I learn as a teacher from my students, and of course, things I learn from my grandchildren.
There’s also singing along loudly with “The Weight” by The Band when driving; the way Mick Jagger and Mikhail Baryshnikov have aged so very well; Stephen Colbert’s humor; the way my dog tilts his head listening to the squirrels chattering in our yard; Frank Bruni’s weekly columns, and Columbia’s Soda City Saturdays when the happy crowd shows us what a spirited diversity our city enjoys.
My dislikes include selfish people, turnips, reality TV shows, the disturbing way “The Great Gatsby” ends, disco music, bullies, murder mysteries that don’t surprise me, some recent Supreme Court decisions, and the mistreatment of animals, children and the elderly.
In this tumultuous summer, listing what I clearly like or dislike is soothing. But local leadership issues are also on my mind and my lists.
For example, I admire and appreciate the many groups in Columbia who quietly and effectively help the underserved daily. I also admire politicians who are brave and put good sense and sensibilities before politics. A relevant case in point comes with the Sister Senators, the five brave women who put party politics aside and banded together to try to prevent a nearly total abortion ban in South Carolina. What I don’t like is the fact that three of them suffered primary losses last month from the party politics of revenge.
One of these senators, Katrina Shealy, has been a mighty champion of child and family welfare during her tenure in the Senate. She not only represented her Lexington County constituents well, she fought hard for the safety and advancement of children across the state. Her leadership, hard work and compassion will be sorely missed.
So added to my dislikes is the continual inaction of our legislative houses and governor’s office to seriously address, create and act on programs they must prioritize to provide the resources and laws needed statewide to help and nurture children in South Carolina.
Also among my dislikes is the June 25 passage of a new regulation that took away the rights of local school districts in South Carolina to decide what books can be in school libraries or classrooms. The new policy allows the state Board of Education to have the final say in those decisions. Instead of deciding what books children can access, education officials should use their efforts and time to address the dismal South Carolina statistics in the 2024 Kids Count report on American children by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which indicates, for example, that only 32% of our state’s fourth graders scored at grade level or above in reading proficiency. South Carolina remains in the bottom 10 states in the country once again this year in education and child well-being measures.
I miss community leaders like the late Jim Leventis, a former Richland School District 1 board and Richland County Council member, and John Stevenson, Richland 1’s first African American superintendent. They guided Columbia and the greater community for many years in generous, insightful and perceptive ways. On the top of my “like list” would be new state, local and national leaders who could mirror their level of dedication, commitment and compassion.
Beasley is a long-time educator who lives in Columbia. Please send us a letter to the editor with your own list of like and dislikes. You can use this form to send them to us easily. If we receive enough, we may publish some.
