“Comings and Goings”

In days gone by, The Forest-Blade featured a regular column by that name. If you remember that, you know it was primarily an account of trips, outings and events that members of the community had been involved in during the past week or so. It was sort of like Facebook but more neighborly without the comments or the pictures or the agenda. If I may, I will borrow the popular headline from that weekly article, to discuss some other recent “comings and goings” that might be worthy of noting. Halloween has come and gone. Somehow, it seemed to slip in and slip out without the usual frivolity or fanfare. The usual seasonal TV specials did not appear. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Young Frankenstein, and Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin were all suspiciously missing. Another coming and going this past week was the annual Dawgs and Gators contest in Jacksonville. There was definitely something missing there too. That game was scary enough without any more Halloween frights anyhow, and in the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s about all I have to say about that”. The third “coming and going” of the last few days was of course Election Day, November 5, 2024. I think one thing is certain. We can all be glad that at least, it is over. No matter who you supported or how much you disagreed with the other side, we all have to accept that we have only one country, and there can be only one President. A recent poll cited by CBS stated that 74% of people in the USA think this country is on the wrong track. That number is the highest it has been in more than 50 years. The two political parties of this country have fundamentally different ideas about how to lead the country forward. However, in every poll conducted in the last 30 days, each presidential candidate was within the margin of error of their competitor. That means that this country is bogged down in a political stalemate. Three undeniable issues are critical to this country if we are to get moving forward. First, honesty must be restored to the process of governing. Both parties are equally guilty of spinning the truth to unrecognizable extremes. It has to stop. Second, the absolute primary goal and immediate objective of both parties has to be resolutely bridging the gap and restoring a bipartisan political culture where the good of the nation overrides the good of the party. Thirdly, a national media that is ever increasing in its failure of maintaining professional standards, ethics and public responsibility must be called to account like any other profession is. That means establishing accountability within every form of communication and news dissemination; print, broadcast, cable, cyber, etc. All of this can be done without the abridgement of any rights, freedoms or guarantees. All it takes is a reasonable amount of compromise and common sense. The 2024 election has exposed what can only be called a sullied and uninspiring view of the democratic political process. The fact that more money was spent on 2024 political races than ever before even further cheapens the entire process. The good news is that the prospects going forward for this country remain promising, as they have every day for nearly two and a half centuries. But, as the leaders and the builders and the careful custodians of this nation and this government have reminded us, “it requires the very best of the very best among us. We cannot be found lacking”. So as we consider this election that has just “come and gone “

we should remember that each of us are a part of this country with the celebrations and disappointments that are natural in any human struggle. The road will not always turn your way, but the road goes on. The journey is a shared experience open to all who accept the proposition of the common good and the will of the majority.

‘);