Letter to the Editor by Robert Tuchel

Blogger's note:  Most of the time when a letter is sent to the editor, I don't post the same to this blog until after the Tunica Times comes out on Thu each week.  When we don't hear back from the newspaper as to whether they are going to publish a letter, I'm going to go ahead and post to the blog.

The Pharisees in the Temple of Government

Since the rise of human beings, there has been a person who oversees the community.  Whether their work was done well or done poorly, their longevity depended largely on the power the overseer exerted on those in the community. The Mississippi Delta has had its overseers or leaders of the community for hundreds of years.  

The result of the overseer can be 1) the betterment of the whole community, 2) the betterment of a portion of the community, 3) or it can be solely the betterment of the overseer.  All too often the overseer or leader spent too little time on our needs all the while saying that what he or she does is for the good of all. 

When Jesus chastised the Pharisees in the Temple, it was because they behaved not as they said they believed. This is common in our world today and happens among the leaders of many nations, states, and communities. 

Over the remainder of 2015 we will be voting for leaders. Persons will be selected to be members of the “temple of government.”  Some candidates really are not leaders. They are servants of special interest groups and individuals.  Frighteningly, these groups and individuals have enough money to “convince” us to select their candidate.  These candidates will speak one message and behave in an entirely different way. An individual who speaks one message and behaves in an entirely contrary way is not a leader. These are the Pharisees once chastised by Jesus.  

For Tunica County to survive and prosper, its leaders must have a clear record of honesty in every and all matters.  It is not what is said by the candidate, it is not the bottle slipped into our hand, it is not the promise of a job nor the envelope containing cash.  It is what the candidate has done for the people of our county…all of the people of the county.  Look at our housing, the need for subsidies so we can eat.  Look at our poverty, the lack of jobs.  What does this tell us?  Has it worked for us? 

Some incumbents must be removed from our “temple of government,” the county government.  Some candidates must be returned to our “temple of government.”  Only a few, well selected, new candidates must be placed in our “temple of government”…our County government where they accept the sworn oath of office and live by their words and by their deeds. 

Governing is a place of sacred trust.  It should not be defiled. 

Robert Tuchel, 7 June 2015