A Road to Somewhere
If you build it, they will fume.
While many beg for it, and many tell you to keep it, the fact is that most of us resist change.
This aspect of our nature was on prominent display during the opening stage of public input for a proposed new road that threatened to disrupt, dislodge, or otherwise disturb the residents of small neighborhoods at the edge of Lakeland’s suburbia.
Places where people know each other and look out for their friends. One was also gated, offering some added sense of safety and privacy.
The gathering also highlighted another prominent feature of our nature: a strong wariness of government bearing gifts. Many who were there were quite sure the decision had already been made and that the public meeting was just for show.
And to some extent, the room reflected the cultural divide that seems to separate us along socio-economic lines. The folks from the gated community were seen by those from the other neighborhoods to have more clout and influence.
And so here we are.
Doubtful, Distrustful. Distressed.
Not a good place, but how to get back to what we might think of as “the good old days” when we believed in ourselves and each other? Evidence suggests that there never really was such a place or time. Foggy, fuzzy, memories paint a gauzy picture of the American ideal with government of, by, and for the people. A sepia-toned image that lies.
Now is the time.
Now is the time for all good citizens to come to the aid of their communities. Come together. Come to listen. Come to raise your voice without raising your voice. Speak to the citizens who have chosen public service as elected officials and professional staffers who deliver experience and expertise to support our collective objectives.
Engage you citizenship.
