By Adam Forcade
Christian Action League
March 20, 2020
When Rev. Mark Creech reached out to me for a reaction to the federal government’s decision to allow the Catawba tribe of South Carolina to build a Casino off reservation and out of state, I had to beg a bit of time to consider.
I certainly encountered many things during a wild five-year ride of leading the opposition against this Casino. But for me, I can narrow my experience and reaction to a couple of things.
First, it was the single biggest failure of elected leadership that I’ve ever been witness to. Despite clear indications from large numbers of the populace that a Casino was not something we wanted in our community, Cleveland County’s elected councilmen and women as well as commissioners (at the time) engaged in every means fair and foul to encourage and facilitate bringing a Casino to Kings Mountain. Before being called to lead this effort, I naively thought that representatives represented the citizens, at least at local and even perhaps state levels. A trip through the mazes of Washington DC and Raleigh NC revealed to me just what a corrupted and failed system our political landscape has become, and how very far from representation all our leaders have drifted.
Secondly, I was amazed at how many people from the faith community were willing to jump in with me and fight an unfunded, uphill and unfair battle against big money lobbyists. I met so many quality people that I would never have crossed paths with, and that part of the journey was a very positive thing for me and my personal growth. For the first time since leaving the military, I was again part of something larger than myself and I gave the battle everything I had and then gave a little more.
Early in the effort I identified Ezekiel 33: 2-6 as the banner for what I was being called to do. It reads:
“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’”
I can say this. I will sleep tonight with no blood on my head for we blew the horn loud and long. I want to thank all of the many people that made such a huge effort possible. So many unnamed people gave extravagantly of their time and energy.
And lastly I want to thank Dr. Creech and all of the folks at the Christian Action League for in person and behind the scenes help, advice, and encouragement.
And lastly I am saddened at the evil misery that is coming to the unwitting members of our community, who in the end were only deemed as valuable as a dollar sign at the end of induced addiction. I am saddened that our morally bankrupt leaders sold out not only one of the few good places left in this world, but our children’s future. And, ultimately I am saddened that at the end of the day the people who benefit from this can only do so on the broken back of their neighbor.
Adam Forcade
Former Chairman
King’s Mountain Awareness Group