What if we are at the fork in the road where one path leads to prosperity and the promise of a brighter future? I believe we are at that point today.
There is a stump in my yard that I see each time I mow. I asked a local tree removal company to cut down certain trees in my yard. Showing him the ones I marked, he said, “you are going to want to remove this one too.” A tree I had not scored. He said, “this one is rotted on the inside and will be the first to fall on your home in a windstorm.” “It looks OK to me, I said”; from my perspective, it looked OK, I liked where it stood. His reply, “trust me.” Once cut, it was more hallow than I could have imagined. He saw indicators of the problem that I did not see. I am reminded of the illusion each time we have a windy day.
Think about how we see our
community. There are hidden indicators of problems that are not obvious. For
example, being in the bottom 15% of economic strength for regions our size in
the nation. Similarly, our small to midsize town livability index is not how we
see it. We do not rank as a top place to
live in Wisconsin. There are missed opportunities that we do not see that rot
away unnecessarily at our prosperity. Please resist the tendency is to say, “It is
not that bad.” Let’s replace that with “we can do better.” Because we are capable
of something better. We have what it takes, and are responsible for, paying
forward the promise of a brighter future.
Despite that many of us care, and
that we make some noble efforts, our culture and economy are in a slow decline. Pointing this out is the kindest thing I can
do. Realizing that our responsibility is
more significant than settling for “its not that bad.” We can choose the path
to success. How we do that is to use the
energy we are already expending. We can transfer that energy to travel down the
better road. If you want a hint of where
to start; Step 1, choose to buy local
first. You do not need anyone else’s permission, and the choice costs
little to nothing extra. “Trust me.”
Well done, Keith!
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