TOUGH PEOPLE

 BY WALLACE CALEB BATES

Tough times do not last, but tough people do. 

Given the flooding events our community saw, I have thought a lot about this in recent days and weeks. Countless times throughout my life, I have seen people in my home community grapple with devastation, loss, and immense grief. 

Despite that, they maintain their deeply rooted faith. It speaks to who we, as Appalachians, are: mountain folks with unrelenting grit and resolve. There is real beauty in that, a kind of beauty that no negative narrative can still, nor any perfect portrayal, incapsulate. 

When the going gets tough, we dig deep. We find a sense of resolve instilled in us by previous generations of our families, those whose labor built the developing world around us. I often think about them: coal miners like my great-grandfather, Robert, who stood tall for a world much more extensive than any man.

Our country is at a crossroads. We can feel the deep wounds of political and social division, the lingering hardships on financial fronts, and the uncertainty of our future. While this may seem unprecedented, we have always experienced great difficulty.

Like our mountain people, who continue to find hope despite the circumstances they face, our nation will continue as it always has. Some things might change, as they always do, but American determination, grit, and spirit will forever leave their mark on world history. 

Though the road ahead may seem uncertain, I believe in the strength of those who have come before us and those who stand with us now. We are a people shaped by trials but never broken by them. Our resilience is not just in our ability to endure but also in our willingness to rise, rebuild, and move forward with unwavering hope.

As our faith teaches us in 2 Corinthians, "We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed."

Just as the mountains stand tall through every storm, so do we. Our history is one of perseverance, of coming together in the most challenging times and finding a way forward. No matter what lies ahead, we will meet it with the same grit that has defined us for generations. Our strength is not just in our survival but in the way we thrive despite it all.

POPULAR

A NEW START - AN ENTRY FROM MY HEART

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES As I sit here drinking my coffee this Saturday afternoon, looking out the window at the snow-blanketed ground and my dog frolicking through the yard (I love the word frolicking!), I am reminded of how the world outside our homes can fill with joy and pain, happiness and sadness, and other contrasting emotions.  At the start of this new year, I set a few small goals that were aligned with James Clear's framework in Atomic Habits : incremental, small changes that will lead toward steady progress. Among these goals are making my bed each day, listening to or reading scripture each day, and journaling each day.  This blog site is part of the last effort mentioned above. I plan to use it as a public-facing journal in which I share my thoughts regarding topics of varying natures. Some of them will discuss my faith, my profession as a higher education public relations professional, my academic pursuits as a scholar, and my perspective as an Appalachian living i...
READ MORE | | |

FREE SPEECH IN THE DIGITAL AGE — A STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES It is hard to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic's onset is now five years in the past. I will never forget the painstaking experience we endured as a collective people during that time. We faced a public health challenge and an issue involving disinformation unparalleled to any other era in American history.  I try not to compare our modern days to bygone eras. The world has always been dysfunctional, and people have always lied and perpetuated harm against others with whom they disagree. However, social media platforms have only existed for a relatively short time. Social media, serving in its often-watchdog capacity, could have prevented some of our most widespread stains against humanity.  Perhaps world leaders would not have turned their backs on the horrible occurrences in Hitler's Germany during the late 1930s; possibly, the slave trade would have never unjustly brought oppression to generations of African people and their descendants in the Ameri...
READ MORE | | |

PROTECT AND DEFEND

 BY WALLACE CALEB BATES On the eve of another inauguration, I am pondering what it means to be an American. The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of American democracy, an event we can anticipate every four years that ensures our voice leads a government created by the people, for the people, and of the people. At noon tomorrow, a new president and vice president will swear in to begin their terms, taking an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, a breathing, living document that has enshrined the rights of the people into America's foundation. This moment, while steeped in ceremony, reminds us of the enduring strength of our republic and our responsibility to safeguard it. As President Joseph R. Biden recently said, "Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead." A po...
READ MORE | | |