We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.
Zhuangzi

There is a special town meeting tonight in Rowe about plans moving forward regarding the school.  I am going.  I need to be surrounded by townspeople to understand how they are feeling about the whole thing.  I will be living there soon enough so any decisions that are made will effect me.

Change is always difficult for everyone, especially when it is sudden.  The loss of the elementary school was a shock and a blow to the people of Rowe.  The remains of the building are still there 7 months after the fire.  Every time I drive by it I just wish it was gone.  There is something to be said for it still being there though.  It means that everyone has had time to go through their stages of grief if they needed to.  The wound isn’t so raw.  I think it has given us all more time to think about what the town needs as opposed to a knee jerk reaction to the loss.

I think that is something we are seeing far too much of these days, that knee jerk reaction to our problems.  There is no foresight. No one thinks about how anything is going to affect us 15 to 20 years down the line.  You see it with gun control, energy policy, climate change.  Events are reacted to rather than analyzed.  Do something to fix it  right now without thought about what that means in the future.  Just look like you’re getting something done.

I’d like to see thoughtful consideration given to what the town needs.  Put the needs before the wants.  Look at it from the perspective of 5, 10, 30 years from now.  Rowe is the kind of place where properties are handed down for generations so forethought is needed.  It’s easy to feel like you have lost all control due to the actions of others when it comes to the future of our kids, I know I do a lot of the time.  I just hope because this town is truly run as a democracy that every issue is taken into consideration and everyone will feel a need to vote on their future.