Letter: Be kind and put away petty resentments
Letter: Be kind and put away petty resentments
By: B.J. Mitchell
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments As a person who worries about our community, Carol Holmes' editorial, "A case for civility," touched me deeply. I think most small communities have people who constantly try to bring others down by starting rumors, denigrating their accomplishments, snubbing them in public, and other put-downs. Unfortunately, Tehachapi is no exception, but it could be and it should be.
This is a beautiful mountain community with the potential for being a nearly perfect environment. However, we are facing an invasion of people from larger cities who long for the peace and quiet of a community such as ours. I recently heard that the projection for population growth here has been raised from 90,000 to 100,000 — within the next 15 years. Any number even remotely close to that will bring incredible congestion, with shrinking open space and increased criminal activity.
In order to survive this inevitable growth madness, the entire Tehachapi community must think as one cohesive entity. We must make a pact with ourselves to heed Ms. Holmes plea for kindness and civility. We must learn to help each other instead of viewing each other as enemies. Tehachapi is our city — all of us. We spend our money there, we spend our time and efforts trying to bring good things to the city, we care about the city's problems, and we want to see it develop carefully.
We can make this a community that we can all contribute to and enjoy, but we have to put all our petty resentments behind us. To borrow from one of my favorite peace activists, "I hope one day my little children will grow up in a land where they are not judged by the address on their mailbox, but by the quality of their contribution to the community."
— B.J. Mitchell
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