Letter to the editor

often a small

town flaw

To the Editor:

Small towns are wonderful. They can also be wonderfully flawed. Yes, gossip may run rampant around "these parts" but this can be a beneficial tool that can also be utilized for the power of good. Gossip in and of itself is not a bad thing.

Think of how many jobs you've heard about from a friend, or the number of times you've overheard that some one is selling something that was just what you, or even your neighbor, were looking for. Each of those is gossip. The trouble in this sleepy town is not that we like to talk, it's that when we talk we choose to say the wrong things.

We are all relational beings. We crave and even require interaction with one another. And when we can interact we want to entertain and give a good impression, so that we can have more interaction later. So while sharing news with one another, we try to focus all the negative attention on the subject of our story, because, if we don't, we feel as though it might fall back on ourselves.

So we snicker to a friend that the loud neighbors received a visit from the cops yesterday and how its about time some one put a stop to their antics, but we some how forget to mention that we were the ones who phoned the police in the first place. Not because we were particularly bothered, but because those people just annoy us. They did, after all, have it coming, right? Instead of calling our neighbors, or heaven forbid- just walking to their door, to ask for peace in a civil manner, we become vindictive.

We all so readily see the bad in ourselves that we try to do whatever is possible to deflect it, to hide it away so others will still like us.

Rarely does it occur to us all the wonderful qualities we have that we should be sharing. Inside each of us is the power to build each other up, to create change of the best kind, to make our town a better place. All we have to do is stop tearing each other down. It is time to realize the good and wonderful inside our selves; it is time to shine.

Emily Pierce

Amanda Street