We’ve all seen the video clips of the ongoing debate across the country regarding what kinds of reading material should be accessible to America’s children and youth. We’d like to think that Greenville County would be immune to having to battle this but the fight is here. Yesterday both sides stood their ground at the month meeting of the Greenville County Library Board.
I had the opportunity to be there to hear some of the speakers but I was standing at the threshold to the room so it was hard for me to judge the size of the crowd. I’m guessing there was somewhere between 100-150 people in there and it seemed pretty balance to me but one of the women I spoke with thought the balance may have been slightly infavor of the LGBTQ+ crowd. However, that said, there had been a meeting just a couple of weeks ago and there were perhaps 3 people on the side of conservatism and tradition values and 30+ on the LGBTQ+ side.
The group fighting against the proliferation of LGBTQ+ materials in our public libraries is asking the library board to remove the sexually explicit books from the children’s and youth section and put them in the adult section is my understanding. We don’t want to see our children exposed to this material. In a normal world, which of couse we do not live in, but if we did, this kind of material would be grounds for some kind of charges…it’s sexual exploitation and is corrupting America’s children and youth. We’ve heard about this going on in our public schools across the U.S. buried in DEI and BLM materials. Of course it’s also in the public libraries. Many of us don’t want it here in Greenville County. I would submit that the vast majority trying to protect our children from this assault on their innocence are Christians. We all have heard the following Bible verse read from the pulpit many times over from Mark 9:42…Jesus tells his Disciples….“whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” To most of us it’s just common sense that you would not expose and encourage sexual activity or exploration in children and youth. At a minimum these discussions should occur with the full knowledge and consent of the child’s parents and not something they might randomly discover in a public library.
What I don’t get is it would seem to me to be pro-LGBTQ+ one must believe in sexualizing children and youth as early in life as possible. Is this what they believe? It exposes children and youth to something they are not ready for and it may become very confusing for them. But of course the LGBTQ+ community and the medical establishment that support their efforts count on children being confused. And of course, they are the “experts”…the doctors, counselors and librarians…they are all certified and educated and have way more knowledge than the average parent…right? They may have more education than the average parent but this does not mean they know what’s best for the child. It’s the parent’s role to make these decisions.
Conservatives in South Carolina have been lulled asleep and it’s time to wake up. Because so much of the state is conservative and votes strongly in favor of traditional values, we figure that our elected Republican officials will have our backs. But you would be wrong. The Left is organized and the act as one big pressure group. That’s not the way conservatives operate but we must get more active and show up. Just have the body count at meetings and events will go a long ways. We don’t have to be nasty but we should be vocal and let our voices be heard making sure our elected representatives know where we stand.
It’s one thing for consenting adults to choose what they do, but it’s another when you start messing with the kids as they have been doing for some time given the explosion in gender dysphoria across the country. Many of us have had the attitude of “live and let live” but again, that’s when it’s consenting adults. It’s a different deal when our children are involved. Oh and for those saying we want to ban books…that’s not true. We just think some of this explicitly sexual material should not be readily accessible to our children is all. Can’t we all agree on that?
BTW, the next meeting for the Greenville County Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for noon on April 24th at the same place – Hughes Library downtown Greenville.
The Greenville County Republican Party will hold their precinct reorg meetings tonight. This is done every other year and is part of the organizing of the precincts. Each precinct will elect an Executive Committeeman, a President, a Treasurer and perhaps a Secretary. The EC represents the precinct at the monthly Greenville County Republican meetings and votes on behalf of the precinct. There is information on the Greenville County GOP site found here.
While South Carolina has a reputation for being conservative, the fact of the matter is that most of the elected representatives at the state and federal level are pretty watered down when it comes to voting for conservative principles. There has been a movement afoot to try to turn the tide but it has been slower than most expected. In South Carolina, the Republicans hold a super majority in the house and senate but often times will have difficulty getting conservative bills through to the Governor’s desk. We are generally way behind states like Florida and Texas when it comes to enacting conservative legislation.
There’s a good opinion piece in FitsNews about the Republican Reorg meetings tonight. It’s written by Olga Lisinska, wife of Jeff Davis the current Greenville County Republican Party Chairman.
And so…we carry on and must go to our precinct reorg meetings tonight. One of South Carolina’s two official mottos is, “While I breathe, I hope.” There are many who want to make sure we continue to defend the southern conservatism found here in the beautiful state of South Carolina…but that doesn’t happen on its own accord. We must participate, engage and let our voices be heard.
Take a look at just about any Facebook Page about Greenville, SC and you’ll see that lots of people are moving here. There are plenty of vocal residents here who are always complaining about the outsiders moving to Greenville. What cracks me up is that most of those who express that attitude themselves moved here from somewhere else. It’s pretty rare to run in to true Greenvillians these days. They are here but they are outnumbered by those who have arrived from elsewhere.
For me this fact that there are so many people who have moved here from around the country and around the world make this such an interesting place. You have the mix on the incredible charm and history of South Carolina combined with a growing and robust economy attracting all kinds of companies and people to the state and specifically here to the Upstate.
According to this article in the Greenville Journal, “Greenville County‘s population is expected to grow by 222,000 residents and 86,000 new jobs by 2040, according to a recent county report. The population today stands at 514,000. Already the county is planning a number of community meetings to address the current plans to handle the continued population boom.”
Our family moved here from Minnesota July 2019. We’ve been here three years and there continues to be great change here to the Upstate. The building that has gone on both in terms of commercial / industrial as well as residential has been great to see. The road remain an issue here and probably always will be. But as America starts to bail out of the northern and NE states along with CA, OR, and WA, South Carolina is an excellent option. I know Florida gets all the headlines, but people should really consider the great state of South Carolina.
If you’d like to explore your real estate options here in the Upstate of South Carolina, please don’t hesitate to reach out as I’m a broker associate / Realtor with eXp Realty.
One of the things I’ve noticed here in the Upstate is just how many different organizations there are when it comes to economic development and growth. Of course with economic growth comes more businesses locating here with the additional housing to accommodate the growth in employees. It’s a terrific place for business – particularly those in manufacturing, distribution and logistics. It seems a bit light when it comes to IT tech and med tech but there are movements afoot to try to bring more of those companies and or divisions to the Upstate. The Upstate Business Journal has an excellent summary of Upstate Economic Development organizations.
I think we can mark Greenville County as one of the beneficiaries of the changes sweeping across the country given the Covid-19 pandemic.
Greenville County saw a record capital investment commitment of $631 million in 2020 according to the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC). This blew away the previous record of $476 million in 2014. The investment is coming from a broad range of companies in various industries. The biggest investments are coming from manufacturing and distribution which remains huge here in the Upstate. But we are also seeing other investments starting to percolate from other industries such as information technology.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that Greenville, SC is going to be hitting a lot of peoples’ radars over the next decade. It certainly has come a long way but it’s time to shine is here.
I know people get tired of growth of Greenville, but you are either growing or dying. You can’t have it both ways. Greenville stands to benefit both in terms of manufacturing growth but also in the transition to work from home (WFH). The area is beautiful. The weather is better than much of the rest of the U.S. Cost of living is still relatively low and there are lots of amenities…shopping, the arts, sports etc. I think the schools are still seen as a bit of a weakness but they are working on that. There are plenty of private school options in the area as well. Living here so close to the mountains and just 3.5 hours drive to the beach…it’s just a great place to be…and many others are coming to find that as well.
If you’re thinking of moving here, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be happy to talk. If you want to look for homes, please check out my site at GVLHomesandLand. — John Murphy, Broker Associate, eXp Realty 864-276-1448.
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