The View from Here

I was reminded the other day that the greatest thing about unsolicited advice is you're under no obligation to take it. That I had this realization at the moment I was offering someone a heaping helping of unsolicited advice only made the irony last a tiny bit little longer, though I believe I did hear God snicker, if only a little.

Years ago a colleague in the Air Force introduced me to what he and I came to know as "The General's Rule" (except it applies to well beyond just that rank and pay grade). Simply put: "Nothing is impossible for the person who doesn't have to do it."

Look around you here in The Rose City as I do at least once a week when I stand on my soapbox and channel Plato, Machiavelli and Lenny Bruce (often at the same time) in offering the finest in unsolicited advice on all manner of topics proving again that the line between surreal and cereal is often a question of how much milk goes in the bowl.

We each have our own ideas on how "they" should address challenges we have here in Norwich (and when you scan state and national news stories, you'll discover we're not so special, unique or alone in what we face or how we do it). To be clear, when I say "they" I mean the neighbors and often friends we know who choose to offer themselves as candidates for all manner of elected office because they want to make a positive difference. Until elected to office, "they" were "us." Oops.

Let's face it, the appeal of being on the City Council or the Board of Education doesn't have very much to do with money, prestige or power. If there are 'perks' to being an elected official, they must be stealth as I can't see them and I wear very strong prescription glasses. (Not always strong enough to see someone else's point of view, but close.)

For the last three years across much of New England and here in Norwich, but longer say friends in the Mid-West and in the Rust Belt, good economic times have been hard to find with every 'tough budget' year for cities and towns followed by one that's even tougher.

Trying to maintain municipal services for an ever-larger population without crushing local property owners under an unbearable tax burden or creating incentives to entice new businesses to our community without ignoring those who chose to settle here when there were no rewards, requires a skillset few appreciate and fewer, still possess.

We may not evaluate those who seek our votes for office in the same way. I choose those whose vision of mission and sense of self convinces me their judgement deserves my support on decisions that must be made on behalf of all of us.

You may wish to select those who best represent your position and opinions and who will be your voice in those same decisions. There's no 'right' or 'wrong' way to view or use government, be it local, state or national. I think the use of the indefinite article as in 'a way' is often preferable to the definite 'the way' but that's a discussion, for perhaps another time. What is critically important, every day and not just on Election Day, is open communication and honest dialogue. Anyone can speak-but everyone should listen.
-bill kenny