Community attitude

Occasionally thoughts more profound than, “What’s for dinner?” and , “Are you washing clothes tomorrow?” cross my mind. I visualize happenings such as running into an acquaintance who asks, “What do you think about eternity?” or, “What are we going to do about the at-risk dams around the country?”

It’s at times like these that I remove my glasses, making sure I point at least one bow at the person who would dare ask such a question on a nice fall day, and reply, “Now there’s a question for one to ponder.” I do that in hopes that by the time I will have formulated some basic non-committal answer which will hide my own confusion about such matters, my friend will have gone to a comment about the weather.

“I’m in favor of eternity” or “I think we should fix all the broken things in the country” probably would not be sufficient to convince my friend of my interest in exploring the cosmos, religious tradition, or political spending policies at the moment when I’m busy contemplating the kind of pizza to buy for dinner.

That’s not to say that I agree with a line from an old movie — “Inherit the Wind” — when one of the characters responds to a question by saying he doesn’t think about the things he doesn’t think about. There are some things we should think about. Important to our country, our state, and our community. It’s that kind of thinking that results in actions to make our lives, and the lives of those around us better now and insure a better future for those who follow us.

I admire those who have been so instrumental in developing the infrastructure, health care facilities, educational plant, fire/police protection systems etc. As effective as the planning that has gone into the solutions to many of the problems facing our community, so effective must be the future planning and efforts as we continue to monitor and adjust to changing times and conditions.

I haven’t spoken to anyone who told me that they have to live here, and that if it were possible they would live elsewhere. That’s an attitude which indicates a successful community, and one on which to build for the future.