Seeds of Hope

This tangle of seeds from my neighbor's Blazing Star plants will be cleaned and packed away for spring along with all the other seeds from the garden. Contemplating a long, cold winter in our building, the promise of spring is about all we can look forward to.

In the larger world, we are reaping what has been sown by unscrupulous real estate agents, mortgage brokers, lax regulators and unrealistic homebuyers who believed in the possibility of something for nothing. Maybe the bailout will keep people from eating the seed corn over the winter, but spring may only be a respite before more troubles.

Radio producers are dusting off those old Depression-era songs about hard times and probably new songs about the 2008 debacle are being composed right now. Whoever wins the election will inherit the folly of past "deciders" whose "strategery" was to believe "A dangerous plan is better than no plan." (This from a GWB photo and quote that my daughter e-mailed me many months ago.)

On the local level, spring promises the possibility of change in the decisionmaking ranks. Outside resources are bound to shrink even as community need increases. Politicians will have to grow their own ability to deal with lean times, to understand the issues and serve the people without relying on earmarks and subsidies such as those which have distorted agriculture and other aspects of the economy.

A simpler life is in store for many of us, even those who have already intentionally scaled down to meet higher food, clothing, shelter and transportation costs. Leadership that sets the tone of prudent stewardship, while offering hope for the future, is needed on all levels.

In spring, Plainfield will see who is willing to help guide the city and the school district through the rough times ahead. Economists are predicting it may take years for all the effects of the current crisis to be known. Elective officeholders will have a larger burden of responsibility than perhaps ever before to envision what is best for the city, without giving in to patronage or other outside political forces.

Let us hope for the best.

--Bernice Paglia