Hello Ward 3, and the rest of Westfield. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. As a single person, I was thankful for all the nice people I chatted at our local markets; there are some really good folks sharing humor, giving advice and of course exchanging holiday greetings, and these were strangers; neat! And, thank you for cheering me up, and I hope I did so for you in return.
As I pointed out last time we are going to have an interesting City Council next year so I really recommend that you watch Ch. 15, either on Thurs. evenings when the Council meets, or Sunday afternoon with the re-broadcast. We hired them, and we pay for all they do and don’t do. Also, encourage your friends, family, and co-workers, etc. to get the Westfield News as it provides a lot of info about what is happening, and who said what, about what. We have to take our civic responsibilities and our civic authority seriously. Too long have both of our primary faction parties worked to take the Dem, out of Democracy (The Dem, is us by the way; those who risk our lives in the military; pay with our taxes, depend upon the stability of our communities, state and nation, our economy.). They have convinced too many not to get involved. The Dem., side says they will take care of us, and the Rep., that they will take care of things for us. From the late ‘70’s we were told it is not your responsibility, you only have to take care of yourself. Kind of a divide and conquer kind of thing. Be popular, not involved… And, we can see where that has gotten us. And, of late, pitting one group of Americans against another so we can’t, won’t work together. While we have different beliefs, we do have common interests, where for 240 years we have set aside our difference to meet our common needs and interests. What made the past Americans the greatest generations? That sense of personal and shared responsibilities for our communities, states, and nation. Too many sold out to: go shopping, have fun, we’ll take care of it for you. So, to a good degree we are responsible for a good deal of the mess. Or, to borrow from Pogo: we have found the enemy, and he is us. Again, we hire them. It is not “The Government,” it is those we hire that mess stuff up. We believed the slogans without thinking about what they mean to us, and how they in real reality will affect us.
To borrow from Ronald Reagan: “VERIFY!” Take the time, make the effort to know what was a Russian media hoax and the real facts. Go to our public library, to the reference room, and take out an encyclopedia to fact find, and not the opinions of what is fact instead of self-serving self-interests of others. Trust is earned, and not given away on some blog, or social network.
Ok, yes I am in one of those moods, kinda sorry for that….
Before I go, I want to say well done toward 2 City Councilor Figy and his wife Sue, for their efforts to get food for the needy…they don’t preach about our moral obligations, they act on them.
And lastly, a lot forget why we have Thanksgiving. While we here in Massachusetts are close to the Pilgrims celebration, it was Pres. Lincoln who made it a holiday during the Civil War, so take a break from all the vicious hatred and harm being done, to remind us of who we are, and why we are. A holiday where friends and family gather together be grateful for what we have, each other, and the freedoms to develop ourselves and advance in our world. One day in the midst of a terrible war, to find a moment of peace, and reflection upon the good that we work together to achieve. Your thoughts… your former Ward 3 City Councilor, Brian Hoose. [email protected]
