Hunter: Congrats on Middle Schools decision

By DAVID HUNTER

I want to congratulate everyone who had a part in coming up with a compromise to the Cannon County Middle Grades sports issue last week during the July 14 school board meeting. I believe it is a perfect solution for both sides. You get to keep the grammar school teams and rivalries, and have a chance to compete against the best from the state.

Talking to several people who played a big part in this decision, they were all in agreement, that this was in the best interest of everybody involved. I admit I should not have been as harsh in my viewpoint in last week's column, even though there are some issues which still need to be addressed in the future.

At the same time, I understand there are more important issues on the table, which has nothing to do with sports, and those should come first. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to watch some really good grammar school basketball and cheerleading this winter in some great places. I know the players and coaches will put forth their best effort at all times either against each other in the county, and against the best in the state.

Honestly, I thought we as a nation had forgotten how to compromise on anything. Today, it seems you have to pick sides on any issue instead of coming together to find a solution which works for all of us. I will try to stick to sports, but I also believe the American people are too divided on pretty much everything these days.

A decade ago, I got my degree at MTSU with a mass communications major, in radio/TV journalism, with a minor was in history. Besides sports, I enjoy learning and studying history with my main focus on the creation of the greatest nation (the United States of America) in the world.

I have read in so many history books that we should remember about when times were tough and the nation was divided. During those times, we were able to come together for the common good no matter what our differences were.

I know this was a sports issue, which was solved last week, and I know there are bigger problems right now across the board. However, I also believe maybe this was a decision in which educators and school board members were able to come together to fix an issue which could have turned really ugly, really fast. This action might be the start of something great.

It breaks my heart to realize this country is deeply divided on many things. I am glad I work in a community that does things together, not apart.