Choices

by Michele Boy | August 1, 2024

It’s August!!!!
It’s hot!!!
That is a direct quote from me. Lol!
Triple digit temperatures make everything uncomfortable. 
While the county fair is over, I have not recovered yet. A lot of hard work by a lot of people, too many to name went into putting on a successful fair. And I am grateful!
  If you weren’t in Hamilton County on Tuesday, you missed a moment of history.
The local library’s grand reopening filled many of us up with joy and tears. 
 My weekly movie reference is  a quote from Frozen when Anna said, “This is amazing!!”
That was all I could think of during the ribbon cutting and tour. 
It was a significant moment that our community chose to support a place where anyone can go and read, explore the internet, learn, study, fill out a job application, and hold meetings. Each room filled with possibilities.
  It is a magical place that I am grateful for.
I hope if you get the opportunity to return to Syracuse, you make it a point to stop in.
  The last week has been filled with a lot of hard decision for me, many that I have wrestled with, and do not care to disclose publicly.
However the introspection and the turmoil made me look hard at my decisions. 
One person running for office commented how after interviewing with me it made them realize how hard it must be for a national politician.
  You make one wrong mistake and people come after you with torches. 
  Where do we draw the line in politics? In my world, I have a past. I have some family members that have less than stellar pasts as well. 
What is fair game? 
In my opinion, I feel like we don’t have a good choice of presidential candidates because no one who is reasonable would ever run for office. 
 Why would you put yourself or your family through that?
What would the political landscape look like if we had more discretion? 
 Would more moderate, reasonable people run for office? I know several excellent candidates that would be great in political offices. They are level headed individuals. But they don’t want that heat on them. 
 So for a moment, what would you do if your skeletons were exposed? How would your children feel?
What would your world look like? 
 In the television series Yellowstone, Rip said, “Discretion is the better part of valor.” 
 “Caution is preferable to rash bravery.” William Shakespeare .
 Time and again we are faced with choices. Is it uncomfortable? yes. But does it give you more opportunity to look inward.
  To me, social media has caused even more issues. We hide behind computers, using fake names, fake voices. Many use AI to doctor or alter images, voice recordings, and to threaten others. 
  What would it look like if we stopped and said, “Let it begin with me.”
  When something doesn’t go your way, often our immediate reaction is blame, fault finding, and lashing out.
 Perhaps as election season is upon us, we hold ourselves accountable. We consider how we would want to be treated. 
We hold our tongues. 
 Would the world be a better place? I think so. 
  To quote Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech The Man in the Arena, 
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
  Does that mean if you are in the ring you don’t warrant any criticism? No. In fact many times criticism has caused me to look inward and grow. 
But it should be weighed. It should be thought through. 
And in the end, are you at peace with your decision. 
Life can make you bitter or better. I hope you choose better. But it is not an easy road.
   So to every candidate out there locally or nationally, my hat goes off to you. Thank you for putting yourself out there. Thank you for trying to make the world a better place. 
I hope whether you win or lose, you come away with peace.