When It Is Time To Go
“Locally, there’s an actual threat to a person’s livelihood as a local business owner if they take a public position, such as City Council or the School Board, and have to wrestle with challenging topics.
The “public” is unforgiving, unrelenting, and has the memory of an elephant.
If we continue to behave this way, the only people left to run for public positions will be people without a shred of empathy; the kind of people who say and mean “I don’t give a shit what you say about me”.
That terrifies me.
I don’t want our public officials to be “soft” and to take things personally, but the ability to operate with compassion and critical thinking is not something to snub our noses at.
The “public” is people.
And people need empathy.
We are humans, after all.”
One of the many reasons after 30+ years I am moving to a new community.
Husband ran for a City Council position a few years ago and it was the worst experience we have ever had in a community we have loved and poured our hearts into. The things that are happening politically at the local level make my heart sick.
They say you should stand and fight. If I was single without children, maybe. But, I don’t want to fight.
I am hopeful there are those with the resolve and the WILL to save this place. I have always loved it for its people, its heart, and the True Idaho way of life. Not what these newcomers, (and even some old timers), are trying to make it. This is not how I want to spend the last part of my life and I want something better for my children. I want them to feel safe to simply be.
Reality, I hope I have more than 30 more years left on this planet, but that is not guaranteed. So, however long that is, I want to spend it where a majority of people are still kind and they don’t care whether you are red or blue. A place where it is still about the content of your character and how you treat others, not your political affiliation.
Hate in any form is not exceptable — this community chased it out once, I am hopeful they will do it again.