By Alissa Redmond

This past 4th of July, I left my kids with a friend so I could attend a parade. Isn’t that funny? To leave young kids behind to go to a parade?

But this wasn’t what I consider a normal parade. It was the only 4th of July parade in Rowan County, traditionally held in downtown Faith. This parade has been criticized for decades for its overuse of Confederate flags as symbols of national pride — a sentiment I do not wish my daughters to experience when it can be avoided.

I decided to walk the Faith parade route despite these concerns as I am candidate for Rowan County commissioner — and I wanted to be a part of our local celebrations of American culture and traditions, even if I was skeptical of some of the other messages I would experience at this event. Our local Democratic party’s “float” (a Volvo) was about a mile from the beginning of the parade, where Republicans — including Mark Robinson — rode in front. Several supporters and I handed out books on antiracism to those watching the parade. A few folks thanked us, but (as expected) we mainly received loud boos and shouts to go back where we came from.

Everyone in my group was a citizen of Rowan County.

None of us were shocked by the comments we received.

We all knew where we were.

We were where we came from.

None of us were surprised to see parents snatch books out of their kids’ outstretched hands, arguing “you don’t know what they put in that book.” (I added bookmarks containing my campaign message). It was sad to see the disappointment on those kids’ faces, vulnerable minds excited for an addition to their libraries, instead listening to the adults around them yelling negative comments at us. Yet, here we all were — gathered to celebrate our national day and our freedoms to our own opinions and thoughts.

Again, no reactions we received in Faith were surprising, but it does feel as though partisan political candidates have never known a more disturbing time to campaign. Our voices can be stifled by one guy with an active social media platform, or an AR-style rifle. I have experienced fewer opportunities to be heard via trustworthy sources. I was recently “cloned” online, with someone claiming their words on a social media platform like mine. It is hard enough to understand many messages we are receiving this year without added barriers technology (and biases) place between candidates and the electorate.

I must run a partisan race for the political office I seek though it is a county-level position. In doing so, I automatically alienate many on “the other side” within my community when all I want to do is advocate for more educational resources for my children. Partisan races can displace voices of reason on judiciaries and school boards — local offices I would argue do not require demagogues spouting party lines. We need folks in those offices who steadily serve our communities for years, hand out supplies at back-to-school fairs, volunteer on boards to positively impact available resources. Yet there will be a referendum on Rowan County’s next ballot asking if voters want partisan labels attached to future school board candidates. 

Our world is so polarized, but voters can take a stand Nov. 5 to say “enough.” 

Education is the last area of our societies in which we should allow politics to interrupt progress. Rather than focusing on partisan labels for local offices, we should elect candidates who pass the “good neighbor” test, as we used to do in this state I love, this place I came from, which will always be home.

Alissa Redmond owns the South Main Book Company in Salisbury and is a first-time candidate for Rowan County commissioner. When she is not reading, she is either cooking terrible food for her two young daughters or dreaming up a better world for them to inherit.