By Chris Kovatch

 

During our 16-hour drive back from Florida I began to mull over how I would broach this week’s topic.

I am a true believer that our media sources should report news from an unbiased stance. All sides should be researched and reported on to allow people to formulate their own viewpoints on a variety of issues. The sad fact is that we are all able to search our national news sources and tell from just the story headline that a position has been taken by the reporter.

I often wonder what happened to the days of just factual reporting. I don’t need a spin on a news story. I just want facts. The editorial page does offer a great outlet to allow opinions to be discussed in an appropriate forum. It is a great tool to engage people and can foster discussion. I think we need to make sure we differentiate between the two correctly.

For the last several weeks in the news, we have seen all sorts of views on immigration and separating families. There is a fine line we walk as a society where we must retain a sense of empathy and concern countered by a need to ensure the laws of our land are followed. I am not envious of those who must make decisions that affect families staying together and ultimately that affect their futures. It is not a decision to be taken lightly and we must realize the implications once a decision is made.

With this being said, I want to ask several questions. What about the similar issues that plague the USA now? We currently separate families daily because parents break the law. Will our family service departments that monitor for child safety be overhauled? Why isn’t the child abuse and neglect that occurs by our citizens on the news every day? Why aren’t our elected officials in both parties speaking out about this? What about the homeless populations in our country? Mental illness occurs in much higher percentages in this specific group, but I don’t read about this and see it on the news. What about our Veterans who serve our country so selflessly, but struggle as they reenter civilian life?

I am all for helping others and try to do so as much as I can daily. I just am curious at what point will we focus as much of our energy on problems that occur in our communities daily that we do on problems outside of our borders.

We have people trying to overcome these important issues in our communities, yet we do not give them the support and resources they need to effectively carry out their tasks. They do amazing jobs with what they have, but what if they had more? Could we see cycles of abuse end? Could we see people begin improving their lives because their mental illness is treated? Could we see our Veterans have every resource necessary to live successful lives after they serve?

A quote by Theodore Roosevelt has been in my mind for some time.

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

We must come to the realization that we need to address the problems of the world along with those in our own backyard if we are to be a true example of a worldwide leader.

We must also know we will fail. It will happen. It is inevitable.

The key is to keep trying.

We must address all our problems, even the ones that are uncomfortable to talk about. We are not perfect. We can all learn, and we can all grow and become better versions of ourselves.

I want to be a part of the solution. I want to get my hands dirty and help fix things. I don’t want to be one of those people who gripe on social media about all the problems we face and expect other people to fix it. I want to be the change. I want to dare mighty things.