How Hatred Divides A Community
Thank you for allowing me a voice. I moved to this community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, three years ago because we researched it and it was a faith-based community, and that touched our hearts. And that's what we were searching for because those are hard to find.
Now since the fire that stormed through Gatlinburg and Sevierville I have been changed in a way that will stay with me forever.
I won't go into details of the night of the fire but it changed me. I wanted to speak out for all of us that survived, because so many lost everything, so many lost loved ones, their void will never be filled in their life. Fourteen people lost their life that night.
I wanted to see change, I wanted to see change in emergency responses. I wanted to see change in Communications, I wanted to see our fire departments and our Police Department with the best and the top line of communication equipment.
I wanted to see an emergency plan that included all even the tourist. So that's why I spoke up so these losses would never be experienced at this magnitude ever again, because we will experience this again we live in a forest.
As the Professor from the UT stated and it's inevitable. One thing that touched me so much about that night was that the hand of God was here, I know it's hard for those who lost loved ones to understand this, but God was with us that night or all of Pigeon Forge would have burned also.
It's hard to watch the last few weeks, the last few days especially. This fire has divided a community straight down the middle there are those on one side who want to embrace each other and change positively and then there's those on the other side who are almost with a Lynch Mob mentality. And this worries me, it worries me deeply.
The night of the fire and the weeks afterward especially the first week I saw people embracing each other in a way that I've never seen before. I saw an outpouring of love that I have never experienced before. We need to get back to that we need to love each other we need to understand that we have to make changes we need to make positive changes and be a part of those positive changes and let's not have this mob mentality, where somebody is going to be punished. I want to thank all of the officials especially the fire department and the police department's because without them and the First Responders there would have been a lot more damage and death.
I know that's hard for some to hear because they lost everything and my heart goes out to them especially the ones who lost loved ones, but let's work together. Let's work together to make sure this doesn't happen again, and that their memories are not forgotten or plagued with a sense of anger and Vengeance. Let's treasure their memories and and put them foremost in our hearts and in our minds and let's work together to make this a better place and a place better than it was ever before.
I'm not saying mistakes weren't made. I'm not saying that we shouldn't ask for these mistakes to be corrected and changes to be made. What I am saying is, I think Michael Reed, who lost his wife and daughters put it best, just shortly after the fire when he wrote a letter of forgiveness to those who started the fires.
I know that everybody Grieves differently I know that everybody moves through the seven stages of grief differently. I'm not saying to fast forward from the anger that we all felt. What I'm saying is we need to come together and love and help each other to heal and move forward in positive ways. We can work with the city and the county officials and we can work with them to make changes. It's my understanding that the county is making some strides and some improvements. And remember they are grieving too. They too are hurt over the divisions in our community. And many in the County are helping with their own personal funds. I really don't know for sure about the city I have not spoken to them but I intend to. I intend to speak to them without an audience without the media and Without Anger I know that they made some mistakes, I know that the park made mistakes, but what I want to work on is how can we make this better? How can we change things so that this doesn't happen again and so that our community is not divided down the middle?
There are many pouring their hearts into helping those struggling. Thank you. There are many ways to be a part of change even in our local government. There are many ways to participate and bring about change, voting is one of those, the other ways are to be A positive voice with local officials let's work together let's embrace one another and embrace the change that we need.
Let's show the world how a loving
Community handles disaster and
Cares for each other. Let's show
The world we are strong In Faith
And Love.
#MountainTough
#SmokyMountainstrong
