Brooks and Company 4th Qtr 2016 4th Qtr 2016 | Page 17

Love Your Community
Southern Mama: Going to Hell in a Handbasket
By: Phillicia Ritch

These past few years have been hard for us as a nation.
ISIS, Gay Rights, Christians and Muslims being singled
out and persecuted, the Charleston Church Massacre, the
Confederate Flag debate, the Orlando night club
shooting, etc. have flooded my Facebook news feed and
the nightly news. I will not debate these issues or tell
you my position on the subjects because frankly, it is
none of your business. If you know me personally, you
can guess what side of the fence I stand. If you do not
know me personally or only know me through my
ramblings, then it really does not matter what side of the
issues I take, simply because it is not important for me to
share with you my personal journey over these past
years.
Honestly, every time I saw all of it my thoughts could
hear my Me-maw’s voice saying, “The whole world is
going to hell in hand basket!” Something she used to say
when man’s hatred for each other boiled over onto the
news headlines turning her stomach. That statement used
to strike my heart with coldness and hopelessness. Being
a young child, I believed her when she said it and
thought, “We are all doomed!” With the bitter debates
and controversies facing our nation now, the same
feelings of helplessness and hopelessness overwhelm
me, sometimes to the point of tears.
It was while I was reading one of the headlines in my
newsfeed that thought and another crossed my mind
again, “The whole