To the editor,
“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next”. – Abraham Lincoln
I encourage you to really think about that statement for a moment. Absorb the meaning, and digest the ramifications. Greene County has begun to forge a new identity in the past few years. We expect better, we want better, we know we must work for better.
Sadly, there is a boisterous and belligerent few who strive to prevent the continued betterment of our community. They have no desire to leave a better community, state, country, or world for the next generation. They are our Achilles heel; they fight for nothing but stand against everything. They thirst for mediocrity, a reinforcement in themselves and the belief that they weren’t handed better so they will pay nothing forward. This cycle of mediocrity continues and repeats ad nauseam.
As in all societies, our youth are the foundation on which we build the next generation. Today, we take our youth and shuffle them into shoddy facilities, and second-rate equipment. Our community perpetuates a perverse narrative that we shouldn’t have to pay for the next generation to succeed; let them do it on their own.
While our community complains about taxes and potential funding the next generation leaves. They leave because there is nothing they can logically return to and build upon. There is no place here; a virtual “No Vacancy” sign hangs on the door to our community.
That sign has to be removed, and we can only do so by conceding that we have to invest in the future in order to expect a better tomorrow. It is not the next generation that does not deserve better, it is the current taxpayer who votes repeatedly for no investment in the future. It doesn’t matter whether that person is an industrialist, farmer, doctor, lawyer, blue collar worker or unemployed. The generation you refuse to invest in and educate will dictate your future prosperity, or lack thereof.
How much was this community willing to invest in the last generation? Where are they now? If we want to bow to the self-proclaimed superiority of Carroll, Boone, etc. then simply stay the course. Inevitably Greene County will become more and more of an afterthought and be known for nothing outside a bell tower festival parade, a town square, and periodically a stop on the RAGBRAI route.
I choose to vote for the future, to reinvest in our youth. I vote for a new school and the ability to evolve our community into something greater than the sum of its parts. I vote for tomorrow as much as I work for today. I choose to leave a legacy of “better”, I hope you’ll do so as well.
Bryce Martin, Grand Junction
