Where are we going...

Just ran across an article in The Columbus Dispatch that some of you may find interesting. Seems the head of our waterways at the Ohio EPA (George Elmaraghy) is resigning. And the story on the street is that he is pretty much being forced out by Kasich & His Cronies. Why, you may ask? (Or perhaps not as we've all heard this tune before.) Elmaraghy does not just roll over and let the coal industry have their way, and of course coal has a lot of money, a decent chunk of which it has shared with K&C. Now mind you, there are all kinds of problems with the water in this state. Don't think that Elmaraghy is some kind of aging hippie. Again, see the water in this state.

But even more interesting -- and the reason I'm actually posting -- was one of the comments to the article. I won't copy over the whole thing here. If you want to read it all, follow the link to the article and read it for yourself. This person's entire comment was quite thoughtful, but this is the part that really stuck with me:

We must abandon the "corporate ethic" (an oxymoron if there ever was one) of immediate gratification/what's going on this quarter and start planning for our future, or we will join the other societies of the Earth who vanished- the Mayans, Romans, etc.- all very smart, very powerful people who lost sight of their future. -- Pete Myer

That, in a nutshell, is the source of so many of our problems today: we don't look to the future. We are concerned only with the now. Granted, the live every day as though it were your last notion is a good one. On an individual level. On a societal level it spells disaster. On a societal level it is complete suicide. Societies are supposed to want to continue long into the future. Societies are supposed to want to grow and improve. Societies are supposed to want to leave the world a better place for future generations.

We as a society are not very good at that. We have gotten greedy and lazy and we have stopped caring about each other. Unless and until that changes, I see doom and destruction in our future. Humans as a collective are frickin' brilliant. There is nothing we cannot achieve. There is no problem we cannot solve.

The key, though, is that we have to listen to each other. We have to work together. We have to acknowledge/admit the problem before we can make real progress on the solutions. And as long as we continue to bicker and fight and point fingers, we continue down this path of destruction. The farther down that path we go, the more difficult it will be to turn back. Eventually, it will be too late.

As individuals there are things we can do. And one of them is to vote. Voter turnout is abysmal, even in years when a president is being elected. That has to change. We have to take our responsibilities seriously and turn out at the polls. And when we are deciding who will get our votes, we need to look beyond the commercials. Advertising, we should all know by now, is not about spreading truth. Rather, it is about selling a product. When it comes to political commercials, the point is to buy your vote. Don't let yourself be bought and paid for. Pay attention and learn something and vote from your heart and your brain.

Also remember that your responsibility as a citizen and a society member does not end when you cast your ballot. Whether your guy/gal wins or loses, stay on top of them. When they do things you don't like, when they submit or support bills that you think just aren't right, tell them. These days it is incredibly easy to contact our elected officials and give them feedback. You may be surprised at the number of personal responses you'll receive. Yes, there will be many form letter responses. But mixed in with those, you really will find thoughtful responses from the man himself (or woman herself… I hate "gender equality" in writing!).

How this turned into a lecture on voting, I do not know. But there you have it. It's not hard to stay informed and it doesn't actually take all that much time. So do the future a favor and become an active citizen.