VIEW

Posted 7/26/22

MY VIEW BY JOHN MCLOONE Weathering the storms There’s a lot of good going on in the world. I know we hear more of the bad, but let’s appreciate all our communities have. Sure, the gas …

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VIEW

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MY VIEW

BY JOHN MCLOONE

Weathering the storms

There’s a lot of good going on in the world.

I know we hear more of the bad, but let’s appreciate all our communities have.

Sure, the gas prices and inflation are taking a big chunk of change out of our pockets this summer. I’m feeling it. We’re all feeling it.

We’re on the downslope of a pandemic, and COVID keeps threatening to take us one more round.

There’s significant political turmoil, but isn’t there always? People could be more civil, perhaps, in their discourse, but yelling at each other is now the way of America.

Drug use and abuse is at epidemic levels. I feel for families fighting abuse from within their ranks. We need to appreciate and enjoy everything we do have going for us. In America, we’re afforded something that people in other parts of the globe die for. We live ultimately in safety. We’re secure. The problems we have can be fixed.

We have leaders, largely, that we can trust, and if we don’t trust them, we can vote them out. Depending on what side of the issue you see things from, there’s apparent corruption on the other side. So, we go to the ballot box and elicit change. Above all, we live and work in incredible communities.

We’ve been able to take time to celebrate with our neighbors and friends this summer. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve been to several great celebrations, and it’s awesome to see the sense of community that unites us all. We especially need to appreciate the volunteers and agencies that work to support our hometown and our neighbors. We’ve all been through tough times, and oftentimes, those who have had to rely on that safety net are the first to pay it forward when the times comes.

Each and every day, our friends in local law enforcement think nothing of doing anything that needs to be done to make sure our communities are safe. They were raised with a sense of duty that few of us possess. They are special people indeed.

In my chosen occupation, I certainly don’t do anything special. But our local newspaper certainly plays a role in our community, and we appreciate nothing more than being in line at the grocery store and someone has the “local rag” on the checkout conveyor.

There are many, many more important people that make our communities great. We certainly all need to tip our hat to people driven to run for local office. It’s a thankless undertaking, and it consumes every aspect of life. They spend countless hours with the community on their backs. As a people, we’ve weathered hard times before. We’ve come together in times of tragedy. There are storms, but we’ll weather them. Together.