Editor, Gazette-Journal:

It used to be that anyone born and raised in the South, especially Virginia, was taught from a very young age that impeccable manners and high standards of courtesy would distinguish you in ways that would promote not only your personal success, but that of your family and community. And it also meant you could disagree without being disagreeable.

Sadly, that tradition has not only been lost, but aggressively rejected by the Mathews Board of Supervisors. Their meeting last week was a case in point. Supervisor Mason requested a simple letter of welcome for a regional meeting of the Continental Society, a group that is well known by churchgoers and nonprofit organizations such as the Mathews Community Foundation (from which it has received grants for its work) and the YMCA. It is part of a national group founded in 1956. The Mathews Chapter, which is known for providing food, school supplies and scholarships to children, was hosting the meeting.

Instead...