Rick Patrick
Columnist
Well, look at us. We made it through another year. If you're reading this and I'm reading this, that must mean we're both still around. I consider that a “win” in my book.
I reckon one thing we're supposed to do at this time of year is take stock of where we are, where we've been and where we might be headed. I guess if you look at where we've been most recently, it may look pretty grim. People have been getting sick, some have been getting really sick and dying. In some places, it seems as if there's total chaos in the streets. It sometimes seems as if many people don't seem to know that stealing and breaking stuff that doesn't belong to you isn't an okay thing to do. It seems obvious that there are some people who weren't taught at an early age that stealing is not a nice thing to do. I hear other people make excuses for that behavior with statements like, “Oh, those businesses have insurance, so it doesn't matter if they have their stuff stolen;” or “Some people have been treated badly in the past and stealing and breaking stuff is the only way other people will pay attention to whatever they feel happens to be their gripes.” Personally, I don't buy that for a second. I think these people who steal and break stuff are doing it more for a free pair of sneakers, rather than attempting to make some sort of “social commentary.” Yeah, I can see where all that would give some folks a pretty grim outlook on the future.
I don't really see the overall future with such a negative outlook. In spite of much of the stuff I see, I see young parents who are raising kids to be good people. I still see young parents teaching kids to say, “Yes ma'am” and “Yes sir.” I see young parents teaching kids the value of being honest and respecting other folks. I see mentors, teachers and coaches who are teaching young people the value of work and developing a little thing called “integrity.” To me, integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Seeing that gives me a bit of confidence in the future.
So, here we are, heading further into the 21st century. No one can really predict the future with 100 percent accuracy. But, I do feel there are more good days ahead than bad. I feel we are more in control of that than some folks may know. I feel if I wake up in the morning, it's already a reason to celebrate. Doing something nice for someone else whenever you have an opportunity to do so will give you even more reasons to celebrate. Why not give that a try every day during the next year? You might just find yourself on the “sunny side” more often than not.