Critics of South Carolina - BACK OFF!

Last week Boeing announced they will be building a facility in North Charleston to produce their new "dream" plane. This is a huge economic stimulus for the State of South Carolina. While the state legislature patted themselves on the back for accomplishing this coup, there have been critics questioning Boeing's choice of location.

"Unskilled and barely above minimum wage employees should not be building planes with hundreds of people on them. This is a life and death."

"This won't work. Neither will the overheated, abused, underpaid serfs of Boeing in South Kakalakie."

What does the rest of this nation think is going on here in the state of "smiling faces and beautiful places"?

OK, so we have an adulterous, stubborn Governor; we have Congressman Joe Wilson who has no manners and yells at the President; we have an assistant attorney general who was caught with a prostitute at the cemetery; there's the man who has been caught fornicating with his horse (not once, but twice); our public school system is in shambles; the state is ranked in the top ten for HIV/AIDS; and the Confederate flag stills flys on the grounds of the State House. It's not like we have Ron Blagoavich or Elliot Spitzer running things. Why are we getting such a bad rap? As the Elephant Man proclaimed, "we are not animals!"

I have been living in Columbia, South Carolina for over 20 years now. I have to admit that when I first moved here my opinion of the state in general was that it was "a little backward." With that said, I find there is a lot of "backward" thinking all over this land.

South Carolina is an integral part of the evolution of this country; many "firsts" happened here. Many outstanding Americans have come from South Carolina including writers, statesmen, soldiers, scientists and artists.

Most recently, Columbia, the state capital, was cited, by BusinessWeek, as having the 14th strongest metropolitan economy in the country. Columbia's ranking was driven by a three-legged economic stool of state government, a public university and a military base - Fort Jackson.

In September, U.S. News & World Report chose Columbia as one of the nation's ten best affordable places to retire. The capital city offers diversity of activities and access to needed services and amenities. One recent retiree in the article was quoted as saying, "We find the people are really genuine. They are very friendly and very helpful." Thank You.

The presence of the University of South Carolina adds to the availability of resources for the growing region. USC ranked 110 out of 1,400 schools in the nation, by U.S. News & World Report in the 2009 college rankings. The business school is touted as one of the best in the nation.

Historically, South Carolina is most commonly noted for it's bold secession from the Union and instigating the American Civil War. Yes, that's true, but what about these "firsts" (all occurred in South Carolina and were the first of their kind in the United States or the world):
- First European settlement - 1526 - by Spain near current day Georgetown;
- First American built ship to cross the Atlantic - 1563;
- First public library - 1700;
- First professional female artist - Henrietta Dering Johnston - 1707;
- First building constructed solely for use as a theater - 1736;
- First systematic, scientific recording of weather information - 1737;
- First public museum - 1773;
- First and oldest municipal Chamber of Commerce - 1773 - Charleston;
These are just a few of South Carolina's firsts ( www.sciway.net/facts/firsts.html ).

And while most people think of Vanna White, Leeza Gibbons and Hootie and the Blowfish as South Carolina's contribution to fame and celebrity, there are many more.
Writers such as Mary Chesnut, Pat Conroy, James Dickey, William Price Fox hail from "South Kakalakie". Astronauts Charles Bolden and Charles Duke; Revolutionary War heroes and Consititional framers Pierce Butler, William Henry Drayton, Thomas Howard, Richard Hutson, Henry Laurens, Thomas Sumter, the Rutledges and Francis Marion - The Swamp Fox.

South Carolina natives include civil rights leaders, a president, athletes, musicians and let's not forget the ever charming and powerful Stephen Colbert.

So, I say unto those critics of the state, back off! We got it going on here and what would the news cycle be without us?