By Pat Fain and Leslie Agron
In this column, we offer our New Year’s resolutions.
Most New Year’s resolutions are known more their breach than honoring. As we have dared to insert ourselves into the public dialogue for the past eight months, without invitation or expectation of embracement, we again dare the whimsical and promise to really try to keep the following resolutions as guest columnists:
- To continue engaging in a civil discourse without fear or favor
- To continue writing about ideas, not individuals
- To engage in more research and observation of the community
- To suffer fools gladly, but gently expose straw men, poseurs, planned distractions, and sleights of hand
- To encourage citizen involvement
- To encourage and honor transparency of governance
- To honor the diversity of this community
- To respect the intelligence of this community
- To remain cheerleaders for possibility
- To push back gently on negativity and learned helpless attitudes
- To continue to voice the consequences of sticking to the status quo, while offering alternatives
- To carefully examine issues from the point of view of disciplines besides science or religion
- To intensify our bias towards providing information in the expectation of better decisions
- To remain true to the seemingly emerging vision for “Something Else†besides the status quo for Oak Ridge
Best wishes for a transcendently glorious New Year.
Pat Fain and Leslie Agron are Oak Ridge residents and columnists.
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