Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

 Progress is important especially when we look at  our world today. It is not possible for us to use horses to plow our fields to grow enough crops to feed everyone, for instance. It would be totally impractical to attempt to do many things as they were done 1 or 2 hundred years ago and the way we do things today will be antiquated within the next 20 to 50 years. 

  Progress is the way forward and yet we have an awful lot of people that have decided that their way forward is back. To that end they are burning books because they do not like the subject matter. They are robbing people of their identiy because they do not wish to give the issue a voice, a name, recognition, or even the whisper of reality. Trouble is that all the things they are afraid to let the light of day shine on have been around far longer than the concept of democracy.

  For the most part all of these supposed well meaning people are the one that have been digging around in another subject that they should be aware of that is to be kept separate from public gatherings other than church. Religion should be treated as a private matter kept between an individual and his or her savior.

  This is never the case because we are so excited by what we have learned and it is absolutely necessary for us to share this information. We are adamant that this is important and that you should hear it and all should adhere to it. You will do even if we have to shove it down your throat, come to the school and make sure that all of  the offending documents are destroyed so that no one can be corrupted by their message ever again.

  All of this does not represent progress. Each of us has a view on every aspect of life as we know it and each of us has to make our own decision on how we feel about each issue. Every decision we make should be made after careful consideration of the facts and knowing how it may impact the self, It is good to understand other people’s very points but that can not be the only basis of decision making. 

  The decisions that we make should be tempered with consideration for all that may be affected by that decision, like building a dam or blowing one up. The people that care less about how their decisions impact others, except in a harmful way, are the people that are most insecure in themselves. 

  They are always trying to be the center of attention, if this conversation is not about me then we need to change the topic. We all know people like that and even if you call them a friend chances are they cannot remember the most basic os information about you, cause you don’t count. If we would all take the time to think about it we would know that with the exception of a very few in our lives no one else really cares as they don’t know you and you don’t know them.

  We progress we realize that regardless of whether we are known by or know of the people that will benefit from the actions that we take today , we move forward and complete those projects to the best of our abilities so that all may take advantage of this effort safely and without fear of injury or death.