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Our View
Values
One of the diminishing qualities of community life in America sadly seems to be a sense of generosity toward neighbors and, in particular, toward strangers who may be less fortunate than ourselves. It’s called charity. But in a community of people, like Rappahannock County, it connotes an appreciation of values that are vanishing almost as quickly from our society as good manners.
We can rue this passing, and should, explaining it away with excuses that time is short, and we are separated from neighbors like never before, and besides, what’s important isn’t you, it’s me. And the deterioration of important human values continues and accelerates. However, in rural communities like Rappahannock, thankfully, values are preserved and honored; it’s in large part why people from distant counties and cities are moving to Rappahannock, or dream of doing so. “It’s Mayberry,” someone sdys, looking to see what response that statement elicits. And so, maybe, it is. What we have in Rappahannock is special, and nothing is closer to our hearts than the annual Relay for Life, this year being celebrated on Saturday, May 22, at the county elementary school, beginning with the official ceremony at 4 p.m. The Relay for Life provides county residents with an opportunity to pay tribute to loved ones and friends who have fought with cancer and also to fight the disease that claims so many lives by raising funds for the American Cancer Society. It is a chance not just to show support for this disease, as worthy as that fight is, but also to show support for friends, neighbors, and strangers. It’s what happens in Mayberry. It’s what happens, for the wellbeing of everybody in Rappahannock. We hope many will join in.
Letters to the Editor We welcome your opinions and comments. Letters must be exclusive to the Rappahannock News, must be signed and include the writer’s telephone number and home address which can be verified (not for publication). Due to space limitations, published letters are subject to abridgment for length, accuracy and clarity. For the best chance of publication, letters should be 250 words or less. Longer letters from those with special experience on a current issue may be published as a guest column (with your photo). While unable to acknowledge letters, we appreciate your views towards the newspaper’s editorial values. Letters should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, Rappahannock News, P.O. Box 59, Washington, Va. 22747 and submitted via U.S. Mail, Fax (675-3088) or by e-mail (makiihn@timespapers.com).
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