When my daughter was little enough to be strapped into a car seat, we were driving around town one day, talking about life through the eyes of a little girl. She asked me, “Mommy, where do I live, what is the name of it?”. I responded, “Yorba Linda.” She replied, “My Balinda?”. I said, “No, it’s Yorba......Linda.”. “Ok,” she said, “It’s My Balinda,”
Of course as a teenager, she really does not find this story cute at all, but I will never forget it. She is a very inquisitive, assertive and intelligent girl, and her ownership of the place she lives on that date, impressed me, and made me realized she shared my view of what a special place it is.
Throughout this election season, I have similarly been impressed with my neighbors, colleagues, friends, residents, parents, pet owners, home owners, business people, all who have the same sense of ownership of our wonderful community. I am impressed by the dedication and affection, by the information and attention, with which people regard this community.
The disappointing part has been to see this type of regional patriotism degenerate into a divisive, ownership mentality. “We were here first...” has pervaded the political dialogue and idealogic exchange throughout this campaign. This attitude though, “We were here first...” has in many instances throughout history, been the rhetorical start of major armed conflict. These embers of intolerance are easily fanned into a raging out of control fire.
I’m hoping for something better.
My great grandmother was a Sioux Medicine Woman, and my grandmother (her daughter) was the youngest of thirteen children. I learned many things from my grandmother who grew up on the reservation near Mobridge, South Dakota, during the depression. I learned many things from my grandmother and the stories of her youth. I learned of the importance of thrift, the value of generosity and the vileness of waste. I also learned the importance of forgiving and letting go of past transgressions and dealing with life as it exists each day at a time. If ever there were a reason and a people to stand upon “We were here first..” , it was my grandmother’s community. However, she did not teach me vindictiveness and retribution, she taught practicality and forgiveness and the futility of living in the past. She taught me that a sense of entitlement was not going to get me anywhere.
In Yorba Linda we have (unfortunately like many regions of our country and state!) experienced a difficult, bitter, resentful and angry tone to our campaign season. It saddens me. It saddens me not just for the hurt that it perpetrates to those it is directed toward, but the hurt and division that it has inflicted upon our community. I am also sad for those responsible for this race to the gutter, as I firmly believe that in your effort to deprive others of respect and power, you ultimately give up much of your own (respect and power). It is one of the laws of nature, and people who engage in these kinds of tactics, and employ these dynamics in their own relationships, rarely see it until it is too late. They don’t see how belittling others, makes them smaller, but it does.
Everyone in Yorba Linda feels a strong sense of ownership of their community. It is easy to see, and patently obvious when at each governmental meeting or hearing, each citizen who stands to be heard starts with “I have been a resident of Yorba Linda since....”, but at some point we have to all remember that on this day, at this moment in time, we ALL live here. Right Now. And, tomorrow, we all have one vote, each of us. None more important than the other. None more heavily weighted, and none worth more than one point per vote. Will we vote for our friends, the people who have promised us that they will give us whatever we want in our backyard regardless of the potential cost or impact to the community at large? Or will we vote for individuals of character who will promote the overall health of our government and practically seek out alternatives and compromises that serve the greater good?
It is by protecting the rights of everyone that we each continue to enjoy our own independence. It is by becoming involved and staying informed and voting our conscience that we prevent government from growing into a financial black hole that could swallow us all. On this day, let us all realize that Your Balinda is the same one as Mine, and work toward, and vote for, government that serves the best interests of the whole community and prevent the proliferation of government that serves only a small, select, and vocal few.
I will be voting for candidates with character across the board. They may not agree with me on every minute issue, but I’d rather trust the candidate with character to figure it out and stand for principles rather than promises. Who will you be voting for in Your Balinda?
