People need to live in the present

We, as Pike County residents, share lands steeped in the past. We stroll streets treaded on by veterans of many wars. We observe buildings built in Victorian grandure. We eat in restaurants named after an Indian Slayer, a great restaurant proprietor and an innkeeper. We enter shops that used to house a school for forestry, a Courthouse that saw many a famous criminal and an advocacy group center housed in an old schoolhouse.

We hear about a county office focused on economic development. We read about efforts to restore our beloved “star”. We peek at stories about possible sewer expansion, hospital builds, and see new high end housing ventures Zoom and doom. We also attend public meeting are are told about how great our futures will be.

Well, I for one live in the current day. I see people hated today for yesterdays and more hated for ruining perceived tomorrows. Few discuss the actual current day anymore. Most social media, news media online commenters, and folks at public meetings scream about, complain about and scheme about yesterday and tomorrow. It appears we have too many here that live in two different, and highly uncontrollable, time periods. The past can never be changed and the future is immaturely viewed as changeable.

We incompetently elect people, we poorly influence any modification to elected official’s decisions, and we never take the effective action to actually change anything in Pike. Today, in the true sense of the word, needs to be viewed with mental and emotional intelligence. Protests in front of county buildings are pure hilarity, addressing or debating at public meetings are perfect examples that elected officials rule us versus serve us, and none of us as unelected officials have any power yesterday, tomorrow and simply ruin our current today thinking about it all.

The only answer is our vote. That action must become stronger than it ever has been in American history. We need to use it with our intelligence versus our egos, our tainted hearts and souls or our deaf ears and blind eyes. It is far from a woke view. It is for once in our lives as Americans we need to use our brains. Be a critical thinker, be a sound assessor of the traits and attributes of those on the ballot, and think of how you want to live in your every “today”. Forget the manure of the past and the childish dreams of rosey tommorow.

Kevin holian

Dingman Township