A Rising Tide for All Ships

I'm going to be specific and hit close to home with the following comments. I don't know how other communities are faring, but in West Plains, Missouri, we're navigating through some rough water these days: recent job losses with more on the horizon upon the closing of a local factory, the need for innovation and expansion of technology, West Plains R7 Schools facing decisions about how to accommodate elementary school kids, and Richards School putting a tax-levy issue before voters to build a new high school, just to name a few. We're seeing divisiveness in how to move forward. The situation is not bleak, but realistically, it's tough.

In traveling around in surrounding communities for my job and for other projects, people often ask me, "What's going on over in West Plains? Why can't you get along? What's wrong? You should be growing by leaps and bounds." We're viewed by many as struggling. We're widely seen as cliquish, especially unwilling to be open to outside ideas. Our neighbors point out specific organizations, businesses, individuals and entities and ask, "Why aren't they working together? Why aren't they pooling their resources?"

I see why they ask the questions. I don't know the answers, but as a start, we need to remember that we're all in this together, and it would be helpful if we acted like it. I've seen individuals who are on the same 'side' of particular issues find ways to disagree. There is often suspicion and mistrust even when it's unwarranted. Sometimes it feels like a competition rather than a community.

In some ways it's difficult to pin down exactly what the problem is, but at the heart of it, we're struggling for unity. It's bad enough that in larger circles we often allow our differences in opinions to spark rude comments on social media and even face to face with people who are supposedly our friends. Part of it is that the greater political issues we're facing as a country seem to be affecting attitudes at every level. We're allowing ourselves, as citizens, to be divided along political lines to our detriment.

In the context of the local community, there seems to be a certain kind of jealousy in hoarding ideas, not wanting to share those ideas if proper credit is not given. Rather than recognizing that a rising tide lifts all ships, we seem to be willing to retire to the swamp and sit there. I believe we have fallen into this pattern unintentionally, without realizing our flaws. As a native and lifelong resident of rural West Plains, I love my hometown. We are a generous, caring community with so much going for us. Maybe I'm overstating the problems when there are many positive points to be made, but we need to do better. And I know we can do better. I'm confident we will do better.

It's a rough stretch, but we'll get through it. Together.