Our Prescription for Troubling Times
With October’s changes come the poignancy of loss, matching too perfectly this year our lost sense of security.
The sniper attacks that have rattled our region are just the latest affront to our sense of well-being. They follow terrorist attacks, a sliding stock market and, now, grim preparations for war that will reach into the homes and lives of many of us.
On top of it all, national candidates this election season are spending as much time frightening us as finding solutions to the problems that bedevil us.
Our government in Washington is taking one approach to restoring our lost sense of security: beating up on a bully. The Iraqi bully may not be the one we’re after, but he is a bully nonetheless. And arming for foreign war is a time-honored salve for troubles at home.
But somehow, those preparations for war haven’t made us feel better. Nor has telling ourselves things are bound to get better. So we’ve asked ourselves what can we do about the bad news, both as individuals and as citizens. Here are our thoughts:
As beautiful October scoots by, we are reminded that our time is fleeting. One solution to insecurity is to use our precious time to take control of the things we can control. At a purely personal level, as the season changes, we’re following the advice of last week’s Fall Fix-Up Guide, restoring order in our homes. That’s following the wisdom of the ant, and believe us, it works. A big, tough dirty problem that you can take in hand knocks many of the things you can’t get a grip on right out of your line of sight.
Another approach is the grasshoppers’ way: Fritter away these glorious October days with their soft light in enjoyment of a resource that is especially ours: Chesapeake Bay. Boat on it. Fish in it. Hunt fossils along its shores. Prowl its roads for mums, pumpkins, apples, the last of the local crabs and the season’s first oysters.
But just as our problems are shared, we think our solutions have to go beyond our personal lives. This season gives us plenty to do on that score, too. This is the time to find political candidates who believe in the same kind of solutions you do. Right now, when they’re out every night looking for you, you can look them in the eye and ask them anything you want.
That’s just what we’ve done in Bay Weekly, and starting this week, we bring you interviews with candidates to help you focus your questions and find your answers.
But whatever politicians promise and no matter how depressing the news becomes, remember that there is a home front that we control ourselves — and that’s how we choose to respond to what the world brings us.
