Figuring how to give back to this country that gives us so much

By

Opinion

July 3, 2019 - 9:31 AM

As a journalist, I always bow in appreciation to the July 4 holiday in that it means I live in a country that cherishes democracy and protects our freedom of speech.

As an American, I often wonder how I could be a better citizen. How can I give back to this country that I love so much.

Beyond hearth and home, some of us may feel we have little to contribute. Which is so not true.

We all are called to serve, whether it’s in the classroom or boardroom, planting seeds or building roads.

On every level, we as individuals can make a big difference, but oftentimes the power behind numbers is what moves the needle.

Teachers comes to mind.

Even the most inspiring teacher needs a network of local support — attentive parents, good facilities, caring administrators, adequate pay — to enable her to be at her best.

On the state level, that Iola teacher needs to be assured her schools will be funded and a fair pension awaits her at career’s end.

And on a national level, that teacher needs to know federal funds are there to help feed low-income students and pay for services for the handicapped and those with special needs.

We all depend on a host of services — government and private — to help keep the wheels turning each day.

 

OF ALL THE changes I’ve witnessed in my short time on Earth, the most dramatic is climate change. As a youth, the only way I knew to be an environmentalist was to prevent forest fires — pretty easy in Kansas — and to not be a litterbug.

It was only years later that I connected the dots that having to scrape our house windows with a razor blade followed by a rinse of muriatic acid wasn’t something everyone did, that the dust wafting from nearby Lehigh Portland Cement could be harmful to my lungs.

But how to fight that? Only through federal regulations, standards that are impossible to come about on an individual level.

In Lehigh’s case, corporate leaders out of Allentown, Pa., regarded new emission-control mandates as too expensive an upgrade for Iola’s plant and instead of comply, opted to shutter the plant in 1970. 

That attitude comes in part from a refusal to recognize how our actions affect the Earth. It is not some impervious ball. Just like us, it is alive and is affected by pollution and weather extremes.

Environmentalists — a mantle we all should carry — know the only effective way to combat climate change is through large-scale action. Yes, we should recycle to save our landfills. Yes, when possible we should buy energy-efficient models that use less fuel and reduce greenhouse gases. But if we really want to make a difference for future generations, we must persuade our representatives in Congress that we need laws that insist our industries curb their carbon emissions and that new products — vehicles, airplanes, appliances — are more efficient.

In his short term in office, President Trump has done the opposite, pulling us out of the landmark Paris climate accords, rolling back auto emission standards and pushing to increase the use of coal and other fossil fuels. 

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