CAN WE TALK?

          The late Joan Rivers had the question correct. Can we talk is one of the most important questions of civilizations, for when it was posed and then when it was answered in the affirmative, humanity then took a great step forward. Sticks and stones became secondary, at least in some cases.
     Yet what do we do when people refuse to talk, refuse to respond, or insist that talk only come from one direction and not any other? We suffer - that is what we do.
     Once more we have a do nothing but argue and try to make a point Congress with the Republicans and Democrats becoming ONLY party members and forgetting that they represent real live people, Americans, and the Republican party itself fighting itself, turning on itself in a rigidly conservative vs. moderate split.
     When I had two kids sent to my office for fighting, verbally or otherwise, I would tell them I was too busy for he said/he said arbitration so they had to write, together, what happened. Given a pad and pencil, they were told to sit in the outer office until they finished the job. By the time they were ready, they were reconciled and each took a share of the blame. We discussed solutions to the initial problem and off they went, friends again and realizing the importance of compromise and listening to other people and their opinions.
     Yet one can become stymied when one side refuses to hear the voices of the other side at all, ignoring them, trying to suppress them, and becoming angrier and angrier, less and less able to function in a sensible and positive manner as the voices of the opposition keep on growing, getting louder and louder, despite all their efforts.
     Sound familiar? Yes, that is the local CV situation, with one person sitting with a figurative cackling laugh and own version of "I will get you, my pretty" with all the figurative flying underlings ready and waiting for their assignments. One needs to get out and smell the fresh air, talk to people, and see and hear what is the truth and the attitudes and needs of the people, not just the "bosses" - who are NOT bosses. The question of Joan Rivers, "CAN WE TALK" IS IGNORED and the Village continues to lurch from crisis to crisis while people with life experience in the fields that are so important to the Village are ignored, cursed at, pushed to the side.
     What a shame, for the true victim here is the Village - and its residents. Last nite there was a concert presented by the Duprees, a singing group of yore. They put on a somewhat different show, giving their aging lungs and feet time to recoup even as they developed excellent audience rapport. Their repertoire contained songs from the Thirties to songs of the Great American Songbook right on to show tunes and their own giant and not so giant hits. The audience loved it.
     Sometimes the different approach can speak volumes and sometimes the old can be renewed, better than the supposed new! Certainly time must be allowed for - in songs, in shows, in presentations and in the formulation and implementations of new programs. DEEP research needs to be done, appropriate evaluations of gains and losses - yes, losses - must be taken into account. Needs must be evaluated and new for the sake of new is never a good approach. Running for the sake of running without checking the track in front is bad, bad, bad. Can we talk? The answer is not just a yes, but YES, WE MUST TALK!