Getting behind the town

When the New Year rolls in, it’s often accompanied with the hope that this year will be better than the last. Unfortunately, a new year doesn’t mean all the bad news from the previous gets suddenly whisked away and we start over with a clean slate.

It seems lately that there’s been more and more bad news in the national and, unfortunately, quite a bit on the state and local level. There’s trouble in the schools, on the borders, at the capitol.

But, as the saying goes “things are always the darkest before the dawn,” and we can help bring that new light over the horizon here in Thermopolis. Education about the issues happening in our town — drug use and declining lodging tax among them — is one of the most important steps. Knowing there is a problem is one thing, but facing it and understanding it is just as important. If we simply stand by and ask others to fix the issues, nothing will be accomplished.

If you’re a parent and not doing it already, sit down and visit with your kids. Don’t just tell them what you want them to do, either. Listen to their words, their body language, and help them through whatever might be weighing on their minds. We sometimes get so caught up in our own issues we don’t think of how our youth might be struggling.

Regardless of whether you have children or not, there are also plenty of opportunities to get involved in changes around town. Organizations are always looking for new members, and there is a common thought that the same people are serving on everything. Do yourself a favor and stop in at one of the meetings, even if you can’t stay for the whole thing. It lets these groups know there is interest in what they are doing. Sometimes the lack of change and action is the result of people assuming others don’t care enough about the issues.

That there will always be issues is a fact, one that can’t be avoided, but we can either let these problems continue to run us down or we can get behind our town and start affecting some real change. The light is waiting for us on the horizon, but it takes everyone together to reach out and take it.