Dear Editor,
As I reflect over this year, and I reflect over the past year of my community, it honestly makes me sad. It makes me sad how much division I have seen It makes me sad how things have caused us to question our love for our neighbor. But through the sadness, I still believe in what Dillon, can be.
I believe in Dillon. I believe in who we are. I believe in our future. But we all have to have belief in our future. We have to learn to listen and hear our neighbors. We must wake up and realize that drugs and crime are taking over our community. We got to wake up and realize, the fight for a better Dillon is for the next generation. We are in the fight of our lives to clean up our streets and in order to make our neighborhoods safer. There is no time to blame anyone, but it is time we focus on what we can do to make it better. I have learned that you do not need to hold a position to make a difference in the community; you just need to trust Jesus and do the work.
I have dedicated my life to service for others. I have worked very hard to make Dillon better, and I am still fighting. I am fighting because I care.
Dillon is moving forward, but there are many people in our community that are working very hard to make sure that does not happen.
So, my challenge to everyone in the community is what will you do to make Dillon better? What will you do to make sure our leadership reflects a changing and growing within the community? The answer to these questions is simple, it is care. You need to care. Sometimes it can become so easy to tone out Dillon County politics and other things that are going on, but we have to be active citizens in order to change our society.
We have to show up, we have to pay attention, and we have to care.
I see so many citizens in the community that cheer on USC or Clemson. They pay a lot of money to invest in these two programs. They dedicate their life to being an active fan.
They dedicate their Saturdays to making sure they cheer them on. Just for a moment, let us switch team pride to city pride, and invest what is given elsewhere into Dillon.
We can cheer Dillon on and we can work hard to make the community better and safer.
I want to see a change in my community. I believe for those of us who want to see a difference; we must tell the truth to ourselves. So that the very things we are trying to do in the community, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to be an example of that change in our everyday lives. Oppressive society is effective but very unfair. In order to change it, you have to be even more committed than the people who created it. You have to care more!! You have to love the community more than you love yourself.
Yours Truly,
Jacorie Z. McCall
Wofford College
Class of 2022
2239 Bryant Rd.
Dillon, SC