Tuesday, May 28, 2019

The Fork in the Road


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.”

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