Column for Dec. 28, 2007

Do we REALLY want change? I doubt it.

I have been reflecting over the course of events both in my personal life and here in my community for 2007. I must say that there have been significant changes, probably some of the biggest changes I have personally ever gone through. In some things, however, I can say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. There is one local shop owner who laments to me every time he sees me, "Ah, Troy, my friend, I'm telling you...people in this town, they don't want any change!"

So what has changed here in Selma this year? Some houses and old dilapidated buildings were torn down. Some stores were sued. Some properties were going to be annexed but that may well be held up in court or nullified. We have a new fire chief on staff. What has remained the same? The same potentially illegal and dirty political tricks were employed in this year's municipal election. The same town council with one exception has been elected. Will our course as a town bring more change or maintain status quo?

There are all sorts of opinions as to the efficacy of the current administration here in town. I have heard from several different sides of arguments and concerns. I have talked to people who know this town's government better than most anyone and gotten some insights as to how things were run in the past and are currently being run. That is always a great benefit to me personally, since I get more than one side to a story or situation. I am not going to write about those perspectives or people, since I agreed to not do so, but I encourage everyone to ask questions rather than to take every statement, position, or situation you hear as the truth. Often truth is subjective, which is what defines politics.

I personally stand for what is right, not necessarily behind an individual. For instance, I did believe that there were some inefficiencies in our town spending that could have been tightened and they were. I believed that we needed to have a fire chief in Selma for various reasons. I stood by that position regardless of the hate mail I got, the names I was called, the acts of cowardice such broken glass that was purposely sown at the end of my driveway, anonymous comments left for me, people knocking on my door in the middle of the night and running off, vicious rumors, and a few other things.

Right is right. I have no aversion to standing up and taking a few tomatoes thrown my way for taking a stand. If I am wrong, I am wrong and will change accordingly. I had this conversation on several occasions with people I have known. That "take a stand" mentality has both gained and cost me relationships and friendships this year. As I study more and more about original intent and history of the Constitution as well as the Revolutionary War period, I come to understand more and more what was meant by "with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

I can not begin to describe the changes I have made and have endured in my personal life. In reflection on 2007, I can honestly say that this has been one of the most exhilarating and yet painful years of my life. I recall the beginning to the book, "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. It begins, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." That truly describes my year. I began on a tepid plain, went through a long, fiery plateau, traveled through a furnace of a valley, and have ascended a mountain all this year. And yet through it all, I have grown as a man.

For the town of Selma, however, I can see where we have had many things stay the same. We have debated growth, we have redefined a few things from within, and yet this year is pretty much the same as any other of the past two years. We have made some progress in some areas, yet possibly regressed in a few others. Can we as a town, a county, a state, or a nation endure the changes necessary for true progress? Personally, I doubt it. Changes can be more easily effected on the local level, but I don't know as though people are ready for it. If people were ready for it on the county and state levels, we would have radical changes in leadership. The quadrennial election cycle is forthcoming, and I just do not see the resolve in this nation for a change from our present course. The ones that do have the resolve are being lampooned as lunatics, and yet I display my resolve for change on my front door. This paradigm seems to trickle down to the local levels of government.

What will 2008 bring? Will it bring change to Selma, Johnston County, North Carolina, or the USA? I can see some personal changes coming for the better. I can only pray I will see it on a grand scale, as well.