Whitewater’s in a time of transition. Those who have been here, who are here, and who are yet to arrive will face this truism: people make history, but not in conditions of their own choosing.
Three key points stand out:
➤ The past sets the conditions from which one chooses in the present. Serial past mistakes diminish the present, and limit future choices. No one sets aside the effects of cumulative error merely by saying as much, as though a glutton who has eaten too much merely declares himself healthy. No nutrition or exercise program is that easy.
Past mistakes have left Whitewater with only a slight margin for additional error. Our city has foolishly wasted years on self-serving happy talk.
➤ All decisions are made from the present. What’s happened before is a sunk cost; one chooses presently with a recognition – but not a servility – to the past.
Eating too much for years has a cumulative effect one cannot ignore, but that effect doesn’t compel someone to keep eating on the theory that if one has finished most of a pie, one should gorge on all of it. If 7/8ths of a pie makes make someone sick, then he should forgo the last piece.
➤ Difficult is not impossible. Good news, overall, and a view sincerely held — Whitewater does not, as she once did over a century ago – face economic collapse. Her condition is less dire – she faces stagnation that represents a slow, relative decline. Stagnation can be overcome, although it operates slowly so many do not see a pressing need to address it. It cannot be effectively addressed, however, with grandiose claims, sketchy data, or all-is-well declarations.
➤ Progress depends on preserving existing gains. A retreat to lesser standards in some areas diminishes gains made elsewhere.
One can be a optimist, as I truly am, and yet see that the next few years will require a rigorous commitment to needed improvements.
On the other side of this, if we apply ourselves sensibly, waits a more prosperopus and dynamic city.