Moving Forward

Glad the election is over. It was hard fought and hard won. Plenty of negative comments to go around on all sides of the political divide. The problem is the divide itself. It is one thing to disagree. It is another to allow that to divide friends, family, neighborhoods and entire regions of our nation.

The Civil War was a major divider. It was not a small matter. Nor was it a simple one. It was as much economic as it was a moral divide. But whole new dimensions of the issues grew much larger because of emotional content and ego.

The Civil War may be over militarily; it is not emotionally or regionally. Good humor allows many of us to laugh this off; but it is not a laughing matter to many millions of people who live south of the Mason Dixon Line. The battle lines are still drawn in 2012 as they were in the 1860’s. It is a shame.

Part of the divide is racial, of course. Not all of it, but a significant portion of it in my view. There are people who do not believe a black family should reside in the White House. It is as plain a statement as that.

Well it is happening now and has for four years now. Nothing will change that. And the world did not grind to a halt. That alone should tell the doubters something they need to know!

They and we need to move forward – into the future.

John F. Kennedy said: “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic

answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

Those are wise words. They allow us the space to consider the future and fresh ideas. It allows us freedom to let go of the past that has dogged us and enslaved us from moving forward.

Winnie the Pooh also offered this thought:

            “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen.”

The magic of a fresh relationship, a new being, a new mind to rub against. It gives us fresh possibilities. Some personalities shut down possibilities, but so many others open us to new adventures. An exploration of possible infuses us with new energy and ideas. That journey is good medicine for a society stuck in neutral or enmity. It needs the journey to grow wings to new times.

George Bernard Shaw gives us this thought to ponder and use:

            “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot

             Change their minds cannot change anything.”

Change is ever happening. It is a constant. Different pace perhaps and different themes. But constantly occurring. It is one of the certitudes of life. The globe is evolving. The tectonic plates are shifting; always have and always will as long as there is a planet named Earth. What is below those plates is shifting and moving. What is above the plates is changing, too. The temperatures are vacillating, the winds switch directions from time to time, the ocean currents, too, make directional shifts. Ice caps grow and they diminish. Complex causes make all of this happen but it comes down to basic physics.

So too are the residents of the planet. In some places change is lickety split. In others it is glacially slow. But change is present in both cultures. Whether each person understands this reality or not, change will occur with or without their participation. Better to be a part of it so we can see it happen, come to understand it, adapt to it and make the best of it.

We may even come to expect it and prepare for it. I call that strategic planning! You may call it whatever makes you happy.

Whether you believe in big government or small, know this: we each rely on others to survive in this world. Whether that is a charity or corporation or church or government, the partner we rely on is needed in times we least expect it. The New York metropolitan region and New Jersey need help. They don’t much care where it comes from. Federal, municipal, state or Red Cross. Food, water, clothing, housing and medical help are all needed. Private corporations do what they can for transportation, debris cleanup, restoration of utilities. They too need help. Illinois sent nearly 800 ComEd employees and equipment to the east coast to help. They left Illinois two days before Hurricane Sandy made landfall. They were on site to help restore electrical power. So were many other electric companies on the scene to lend a hand. They will stay until the job is done. It takes time to remove debris, clear the way, and rebuild electric grids. It takes time to restore power to everyone; bit by bit; block by block. It takes time.

If the out-of-power victims of the storm want to blame someone, they need to look in the mirror and say: “Why didn’t I insist that my power company build storm hardened facilities and underground installations?” Why haven’t we all asked that question? Why do we allow the most sophisticated nation on Earth to put up with above ground utilities that always get destroyed in major storms? The cost to restore such equipment is enormous. Those costs are in our rate structure.

Our suffering is not reflected in the rates we pay. Think about that.

Next time someone asks if our country should make infrastructure investments, say yes. There is much to modernize and improve. It will take trillions to renew and replace.

Let’s do it!

November 13, 2012