Looking Towards 2023 For Answers

By the time you read this we will have had the opportunity to have celebrated another holiday season and have enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to spend time with members of our families and those that are close to us. I’ve been fortunate over the 36 years being here on the island to have broadened my group of friendships and I consider that a great blessing, for friendships are something that I consider to be a great gift and not to be trifled with.

Myself, I had a relatively modest upbringing. My dad was a self-employed barber, and my mother was a “stay at home,” mom. That didn’t mean she didn’t work, because she did, and her challenges expanded expeditiously after the death of my dad from cancer at the young age of 45. This would leave my mom with three children, ranging from nine to 16 years old. She raised us on her own, with me being the eldest of the three.

I do think the term, “the good old days” is a relative expression, which for me relates more to the tenure of life which surrounded us growing up. The level of respect which we had for one another and those societal norms we grew up and took for granted. We never were cold, we never were hungry, and my mom always made sure we were always dressed appropriately.

A great friend of mine, Weldon Hoyt, who was about 20 years my senior, always cautioned me about the phrase, “good old days.” He would always tell me that I might have a different perspective on those “good old days,” had I lived during them. Yes, I think we need to be careful what we wish for, especially seeing we had never tasted that experience.

I do have to admit though that even in my relatively short time here that I have seen an unfortunate decline in a number of areas I have witnessed as I’ve grown older, and the years have slipped by. I’m not talking about “material things,” but instead items or habits that don’t cost a penny.

Take for example manners, especially in how we deal with others, such as holding the door or giving up a seat for a lady. Saying excuse me if you unintentionally bump up against another person, whether it be male or female.

These are relatively simple acts of respect to one another that at one time in our lives were the norm and not belittled for. Those were the “good old days.” Those were times when old fashioned manners and respect were expected and not looked down upon by anyone.

These were also times when a person would honor debts which they felt obliged to pay and not look to escape the responsibility to honor that commitment to another, rather than look to find the easy way out from honoring that commitment. 

During the last few years we saw all too many individuals take advantage of government giveaways, just because they were there. These individuals walked away from jobs rather than work for wages because the government was making it easy. They felt “entitled,” so they did it and left employers in a lurch and cost them dearly.

Now there are folks that will always find circumstances which are beyond their control and there should be a safety net for them as a helping hand to assist for legitimate reasons. However, a safety net should never be a Barcalounger, and should be limited to those who demonstrate a true need.

Entitlements have been used to enslave many young people in today’s society. They have become the norm instead of the exception to the rule. We are slowly but surely edging towards a society where less people are in the workforce producing the goods and services we are consuming.

The 4,155 pages of the recent spending bill which averted a government shutdown will pump another $1.7 billion into an already overheated economy with inflation out of control and the economy teetering on the edge of a recession.

I am sure of one thing; we cannot simply look to the past, we must have the courage to look forward and make the hard decisions to do what is right for our nation and the citizens of this great country.