Except for the county fair's board, I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of us don't think about the fair for the rest of the year or years to come.
Until there is no fair.
Just as no one really thinks about water issues...until there is no water.
Not many think about hunger or joblessness...until there are no food or jobs.
Thought might not be given much about health care...until there is no health care.
There might not be much thought given about art and music in our schools...until there is no art and music in our schools.
Not many really think about transportation issues...until there are no alternatives when a vehicle breaks down and cannot afford to be fixed, or the price of the gasoline climbs to over $4 per gallon...or delivery services are affected.
Not much thought is given to the programs and resources available to our communities through our local groups, churches and organizations, such as ATCAA, First 5 Amador, AmadorSTARS (Camp out for Cancer is coming up in September), Friends of the Amador County Library...until there are no more programs.
Who and/or what decides the fate of our livelihoods? The President? The House? The Senate? The Governor? The Supreme Court? The Board of Supervisors? Corporate banks? The banks attorneys?
We do. But the truth is, we don't give much thought. We're pretty distracted by our own day-to-day crises and dramas, or by the latest news headlines and advertisements, or the livelihoods of celebrities. There are many different kinds of bright and shiny objects that have the ability to lure us down dead-end roads, or cause us to admire "Emperor's clothes". Red herrings can turn our heads away from reality; so many are given just enough time for a bill or motion to pass that we know nothing about...until we do.
When governments fail, when businesses fail, when religion fails...when so many local, regional, state and national institutions fail us...it is that strong, unyielding sense of community that seems to draw us together. What drew me back to California from Nashville, TN was the realization and fact that Amador County was, quite simply, home for me. Here in this little strip of California country stretching from about Ione/Camanche all the way to Kirkwood, I knew I had family out here that went way beyond blood, beyond networks and "Facebook Friends". For the past two years, I've since become some kind of witness or third party to quarrels and fights, births and deaths, "Hatfield and McCoy"-types of dramas and crises...and have held to my belief that Amador County survives and thrives, not because the majority of us necessarily know what the hell is going on in the world "out there", but because we're all family...and family takes care of its own. It's what I believe about community media, and what we all have to say about what happens here.
Some of us are scared for the future. Some of us quite frankly don't know what to make of either past nor present. Some of us might be thriving, retiring, have no clue about the issues affecting those who might be told to metaphorically "eat cake". Some of us might feel the urge to "occupy" and take hold of what might be slipping through so many hands. Others might feel the anger and urge to light torches and dump tea into a bay. Regardless of metaphor, who is really listening? Who knows our woes? Who tears for our fears?
A community does.
I'm in Sacramento quite a bit these days...our State's Capitol. As candidates and political parties parade through another election year with their own clothes, I hope that we give a bit of thought about the issues that have the power to directly or indirectly affect our lives. Maybe you don't care about the "powers that be". Maybe you think the country/world is going down the toilet, anyway. Maybe you think that today's issues don't affect you. Who cares, it's all boring, they suck, let's party, rock on...
...until the water is shut off. The food is gone. Your work hours are cut, or you're laid off, or you lose your job, your car, your house. Your Amazon order is somewhere in Colorado off of I-70 just past Limon. Been there, done that....have several t-shirts.
Just some thoughts.
Welcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while you sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world
There's no turning back
Even while you sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world
It's my own design
It's my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world
There's a room where the light won't find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do I'll be right behind you
So glad we've almost made it
So sad they had fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world
I can't stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that you'll never never never need it
One headline, why believe it?
Everybody wants to rule the world
All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world
("Everybody Wants To Rule The World" - Tears for Fears, April 1985)
---
Carol Harper is the Editor of Amador Community News, www.NewsAmador.com, a part of the Knight Citizen News Network, www.kcnn.org
No comments:
Post a Comment