TAKING PRIDE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

As a community, why do we wait until outsiders come into it to tell us that it needs to be cleaned up? Why can’t we just pick up our trash, remove the broken down cars, repair or tire down the dilapidated homes that are not suitable to live in? Are we content with living in our own filth that we have become immune to our surroundings?

It is the residents’ job to make sure that their community is clean and cared for. It represents the people that live in it. If where you live is full of trash, violence, and crime —to outsiders— it is a reflection of you. Although many that live in it are law-abiding citizens, it’s the one’s that reek havoc throughout the community that gives it a negative image.

There are many that want to do something positive for their community. But when you have people that come behind you and destroy your hard work, it can become frustrating.

We see stories on the Evening News where residents in the community want change, want to do something positive, so that outsiders will know that they want a better community. But they are afraid to tell those that are responsible for the crime and graffiti to clean up their act or move out.

For those that are living in these conditions, it’s not that they are lazy, but many feel defeated, because others in the community do not want the same. If you are working to make a difference by yourself, it doesn’t take long for fatigue to set in. It takes a unified community to come together and have a sense of proud of their living conditions. Pride in one’s community causes things to change and positive changes will make things better for all that lives in it.