I’m upset. My silly little Coffeebreak recorder didn’t work this morning. Well, it worked, but it shut off at the return from the first break. I haven’t figured out why yet. Either something I had something else running in the background which stole CPU cycles or bandwidth; or the stupid connection re-buffered for another reason, causing there to be a fault in recording. That stinks.
So, I set up a back-up task to record the replay at 4:00pm. I listened to this morning’s program, but did so on the way back home from dropping Diana off at work, which means that I really didn’t get a chance to sit down and think along with the program.
In keeping with the theme of government (which was disrupted by Thursday’s program–a break was taken in order to have guests speak on the upcoming “Go Red” events in February), Rick spoke on our poor representation and community involvement. One incident which happened this week, which “didn’t anger” him, but made him “wonder” was the announcement of Clark county receiving funds to assist in building an aquatic center. The big question is, how can Clark county receive state monies to aid in the funding of such a project, while Harrison hasn’t seen anything. Another sticking point is that the senator representing our district has not been so neighborly with us–Rick has not seen Sen. R.J. Palmer in the county but once, that he can recall, whereas previous senators were frequently seen or heard from.
Granted, as Harrison County Magistrate Jerry Dawson noted earlier in the week, Harrison County was rather spoiled in the past by having senators with personal interests in Harrison county–the late Wilson Palmer, for example–but the senator of any district should be more active in efforts in all counties within his district, whether or not he resides there. (Senator R.J. Palmer resides in Clark County)
Is Harrison County getting an unfair deal? Possibly.
Did the same thing happen before, in the opposite direction when we had a senator living here? Did citizens in other counties cry foul when something beneficial happened in our county as opposed to theirs? More than likely.
There is a problem here, though. Our senator hasn’t stopped by as often as the former senators. He needs to look at how he’s spending his time, and show his face, or share his voice more often. This, however isn’t the BIG problem. The BIG problem is our citizenry.
We don’t speak as loud as we should. Before I continue, I should say that I am as guilty of this as those I am taking issue with–I don’t speak out as much as I could. I don’t attend civic meetings. I don’t contact my local, state, or federal representatives. I am not as active in the community as I could be. I moan and cry about how terrible things are, and what different bone-headed decisions and directives our local, state, and federal governments make–but I don’t take any action. That, my friends, is the BIG problem. Our community is filled with people who do the same.
“Has anyone ever said to you that the city is dying?” Rick asked this question on the program this morning, and I do not know fully what he was asking–was he asking the question straight-out? was he trying to spark some thought? was it something he has thought? or was it just a question that suddenly came to mind?
“It’s a dying town,” were a few of the words Diana said, late last week, when she asked me why I was so fond of Cynthiana. I really have no choice but to acknowledge her statement, and try to pick up with weak rebuttals as I look around. We have two industrial parks–one half-occupied, the other has seen only one development. I can think of three, maybe four buildings that had been used for manufacturing/industrial applications which now sit vacant. We have two major parks–one in sad repair, and the other has been sitting idle for five years, waiting to be developed. There are numerous storefronts in the shopping centers and in the downtown area which haven’t been occupied in months, even years.
Cynthiana is dying. And it hurts me to watch her die. And I’m not doing anything to help. I’m only standing at the foot of her bed, amongst all of you, watching her gasp for air.