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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