This is your wakeup call, West Virginia

Yahoo

07-04-2025

The West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Political pandering: the act of expressing one's views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal for the purpose of drawing support up to and including votes and do not necessarily reflect one's personal values.
Absurd! And yet, this political pandering is becoming a core issue on the federal, state and local terrains. As such, it comes very close — too close — to preventing any real, definitive action in enacting legislation that would result in anything of real value. And knowing of the deep-seated trend makes us question the validity of the actions of our legislative leaders. Do they have our best interests at heart, or do they have their best interests at heart — i.e., what propels their own political aspirations?
We don't have to dig too deep to find examples of politicians not only tweaking their positions but making complete turnarounds. Politicians have always been careful in their positions of where they stand, depending on the audience, but in recent years, their blatant disregard for standing firm on conviction/principle has produced a level of distrust, evidenced in the vast number of voters who simply didn't show up to vote in the last presidential election. And while the good-ole-boy political system exists — to some level — throughout the country, it has always been most deeply ingrained in West Virginia. And its resultant damages are crystal clear to even those who would deny it.
A few months ago, in a commentary published in West Virginia Watch, I focused on my — at times — challenging journey as a West Virginia writer. It was humbling and gratifying when the piece was picked up by a few other respected news outlets. At its core, the piece was a wake-up call to West Virginia to leave behind the antiquated ways of doing business that clearly no longer work.
In response to that piece, I received a letter from a well-respected, critically acclaimed, award-winning West Virginia author lauding my efforts to bring to light what is essential for West Virginia's growth. The author spoke to 'the isolation, the vacuum, in which we, as creatives, work and how that environment is often at the will of others who are motivated by complex agendas and often a lot of defensiveness.' The letter made its way into a look at Charlotte Pritt's unsuccessful run for governor, pointing out 'the dark shadows which then, and I expect now, underlie West Virginia politics and culture.'
And here we are, decades later, the alarm on the clock resounding loud and clear. Are you listening, or are you simply going to keep hitting the snooze button? When will we say, 'Enough!' When will we don the badge of courage, take a deep breath, and forge a new path that most assuredly will lead us to a route void of political pandering—or at the very least crumble its much too-solid core?
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX