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I can get so angry!

November 7, 2022

I am a passionate person, I love good conversations, I love good discussions, and I can also be very opinionated (no surprise to anybody who knows me). Last week I struggled! It felt like everything was about ‘big government’ and against the small community based organizations who are trying to make things happen. I felt overwhelmed by the demands of government organizations who had good intentions to help the local communities, but never realized the burden they put on small organizations with limits on time, allocation, and reporting. I was struggling with my attitude, trying to be thankful for grants and special projects but also frustrated with the sometimes impossible demands that come with them.

As we are finalizing ‘election season’ I am thankful to live in a country where elections can be held (even if the system is not perfect), but I am also having to admit that I am currently rather tired of the bureaucracy of our country. The ballot statements are filled with so many ‘buzz words’ and rhetoric. Use the right words and you get elected, know the right people and you get the vote. But seldom do we go back to see if the promises made were actually lived out, if the words that were spoken were put into action.

I love this country and the amazing opportunities it offers, but I also feel that we are on a slippery slope of losing things. We have lost a moral compass. When elections are about votes and not truth, we’ve lost our way. When candidates backstab each other and set poor examples of common decency, but expect it from the ‘common’ people, we have lost our way. When there is no transparency in the ways things are handled, we’ve lost our way. When what is modeled is not what is expected, we’ve lost.

I am tired and angry at times, tired of what COVID did to us, and yet aware that we cannot blame COVID for everything, tired of the uncertainties of this world, the threats of wars far away and crimes close by. I am tired. Period!

Then I am reminded about the many conversations, the partnerships, the collaborations I get to have with people who deeply care about our community. The individuals who give up their time to serve, the small non profits who want to change the world, the associations who care about their neighborhoods, the individuals who administer grants and are trying to make it easier for us.

Maybe if we work together, trust each other, do what we promise, and help each other, our world could again become a safe place for all, a just place for all, a thriving place for all. If you see me this week, remind me of the good that is happening in our communities, remind me of the good you are doing, because sometimes it is difficult to remember. Sometimes I am just tired and forget to look up.

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