Just stuff by Gary Arrington

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Finally it is all over. That had to be the hardest, most painful election cycle in my life and I am really grateful that it is over. I fear that the future may be even worse.
It seems to me that the motivation to run for national office today is much different than yesterday. While today’s local elections appear to still be about what one can do to better the local environment, the national election seems to be about something much, much different.
In past elections, even the Bush-Gore election, it seemed that people after the election went about their business but not today. I know it hasn’t been very long since the actual vote day but still the atmosphere feels strange. One can sense hostility. One can be despaired.
So the question is “What can one person here in Emery County do about anything?” and the answer is still quite simple. One must give a dang about things and one must get involved.
Ask yourself what you can do and then help do it. President Kennedy’s famous line of “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country” still applies, at least to some of us. It needs to apply to all of us.
After the past several months where it seemed like everything was about what this country should do for you, from health care to birth control to making sure we all have equal opportunities, it is time to revisit history and get a new perspective on life. It is time that we do for ourselves.
It is true that there truly are some that need our help continuously but the majority of us need to give much more than we take. Each of us needs to take the responsibility of taking care of ourselves. While we do a good job of that here in Emery County and even here in Utah, as a nation we do not.
If the citizens of this country want this country to survive and thrive then the attitudes of the citizens must change. We must all be givers and each of us must do his and her part.
Let’s do our part and start something here and now. Let’s make a difference, we can make things better. It has to start somewhere, why not here. Smile and go do something, have a great day.