Clarksville Now publishes opinion pieces representing both sides of a variety of topics. Opinions presented do not necessarily reflect those of the newsroom or management. To join the conversation, email your opinion piece to news@clarksvillenow.com.
Contributed commentary by David W. Shelton:
Did Aron Maberry help “break” Tennessee?
State Rep. Aron Maberry asked this question in a recent Facebook post. It was in response to an article on CNBC that listed Tennessee as the worst state in the US for “quality of life.” The story, written by veteran journalist Scott Cohn, listed the state’s high crime rate, lack of inclusiveness, and its abysmal worker protections as key elements that landed the Volunteer State as dead last in quality of life for its residents.
For Maberry’s post, it was the lack of inclusiveness that was his personal point of pride.
After all, it was Maberry who sponsored and ushered into law a measure that outlaws any and all programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Rather than question his own involvement in the bill, he doubled down. He asked if he “helped to break Tennessee” and said that anyone relying on the report “should stay away.”
Then his final statement: “Worst place to live? Sounds like they just gave us the best free advertising to keep the wrong people from coming. I don’t say this often but thank you CNBC!”
Yes, you read that right. He wants to keep “the wrong people” from moving to our beautiful state. The wrong people.
So, who are the wrong people, Aron? Maybe we need to be asking this more often, especially since he spent an enormous amount of energy breaking down inclusion programs with his bill. He promoted the bill because it was “racist,” implying that white professionals couldn’t get hired because of some DEI policies.
We already know that diversity and equity are a huge no-go for Tennessee Republicans like Maberry, and here he is slamming inclusion, right there on Facebook for all to see. A pastor. Scoffing at inclusion. Publicly, even. The wrong people.
The implications of this are staggering for me, when the very message of Christ is one of inclusion – especially of “the wrong people.” You know, the drunks, the adulterers, the thieves, the tax collectors … Oh, wait. I just described several TN GOP Congress members.
Maybe the “wrong people” are unmarried women looking for prenatal care like the woman in East Tennessee that was denied such care because she isn’t married. Tennessee, by the way, also has the highest maternal mortality rate in the country at 41 deaths per 100,000. What good is quality of life when you’re dead?
That’s not even talking about the women that make the difficult choice to end their pregnancy and are forced to leave the state to do it. And, in yet another slap in their collective face, the state passed a law that would seek to punish them for doing exactly that (that law is going through the courts now). No matter their situation, I have to ask: Are these women “the wrong people” too?
Or maybe the wrong people are just people who don’t look white like me? After all, why bother with inclusion when you’re kicking diversity to the curb too? The state Legislature has even stripped power from the Human Rights Commission, which was tasked with addressing civil rights violations.
And then there is the massive underfunding for state HBCUs like Tennessee State University and Lane College. These schools can’t even fund needed repairs from decades ago. I guess they are the wrong people too.
But hey, this is about inclusion, a bastion of liberal thought that originated with an obscure Nazarene who used his teachings to challenge his followers to embrace people of all walks of life, even Samaritans. They were the most hated people in those days, reviled in every way. But since we don’t fully understand just how hated Samaritans were in the times of Christ, let’s swap that with something we will recognize: Undocumented immigrants.
Now imagine the Parable of the Good Samaritan told with undocumented immigrants, and you’ll get the point. Heck, replace them with any reviled group and it still works: Black and brown people, native and indigenous, gay and even trans folks. You know, “The Parable of the Good Trans Woman” has a nice ring to it.
Here’s the reality: Everyone that Pastor/Trustee/Representative Maberry thinks is the wrong people just might be the very people that will enrich all of us, and certainly are children of the Highest. That is, if we are curious enough to learn about who they are and what they bring to the table. You’ll be surprised at how rich these amazing “wrong” people are with wit and wisdom.
May those “wrong” people should do the one thing that scares the hell out of every short-sighted and closed-minded “right person” in the state alike: They should unite, And then they should lead. For out of many, we are one.
David W. Shelton