Do we have too much time on our hands?

Do we have too much time on our hands?

I have been "waiting in the weeds" of late. I have been observing the PADS uproar, The Taste of Park Ridge inquisition, and I have to ask the question:
Do Park Ridge residents have too much time on their hands?
Although I too, have opinions on the topics that have gripped our town recently, we seem to be mired in the minutiae of that most imnportant entity.....OURSELVES.
I struggle to balance my "citizen role" in the world outside of Park Ridge, with my desire to watch out for myself and my neighbors.
How much community self absorbtion is too much? I don't have an answer.
My passion for saving Cumberland from super-highway status has dragged me kicking and screaming into the processes that determine our community's "way of doing things." We profess humanitarian concerns, but don't want to help in our own backyard. We establish local celebrations that are fraught with personal agendas. We raise our children in a "bubble," and then send them out into the world ill-equipped for reality. And we do it all in the name of safety. We don't want reality to touch us, and so we over-analyze our lives here and forget that we are citizens of a larger world. I am also guilty of this myopic view of community. Maybe, if we chose to dip our toes into the icy waters outside of our bubble, we would be better citizens when we return to the comfy bathwater of our town. Maybe being a sef-absorbed citizen is a good place to start. I'll jump into the cold waters of the bigger picture. Anyone care to join me?
The Cumberland Patriot

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Hug A Patriot Today!

Most Americans view the 4th of July as a day off of work, a BBQ, and a few fireworks. When we are at war patriotism moves up a notch and we spew rhetoric that is comfy and noisy, and we all beat our American chests and feel like we are patriots because we uttered a few tired phrases that make us all feel better. Ahhhhh, my patriotic duty is over for the year...phew. Complacency rules. Citizenship in this country is not a passive novelty. It is, every day, conducting ourselves in a way that makes this country the best place on earth to live. Note that I said best; not perfect, not easy, not without conflict. Growth is messy, love is messy, hell, life is messy-why wouldn't a Democracy be messy? The best, most important things are. We have no clue what it was like for our forefathers. To be a Patriot was to be marked for hanging, to ruin one's livelihood, to risk one's land, ....I could go on.
On the 4th of July, of the same year, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams drew their last breath. A fitting end to their patriotic lives, huh?
So, look around you today. Who do you know that quietly lives a patriot's life of decency,respect and helpfulness?
Who throws the paper just a bit closer to your door for you on some mornings? Who calls you when the power goes out to see if you need anything? Who moves your garbage cans when they have fallen over? Who waves and says hello as you walk through town? Patriots, one and all. Hug A Patriot today!
The Cumberland Patriot