Pettiness will not improve our county

“The petty man is eager to make boasts yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.” – Xun Kuang.

At some point in life, we’ve all reacted in a petty way over something. We are human; we sin every single day, and sometimes, our egos override our desire to do the right thing.

Have you ever been guilty of that? I know I have.

As I get older, I see the errors in my ways in the past.

Being petty in life always leads to hardship at some point. It will cause you to make enemies you didn’t realize you had.

Many times, others see when we react petty. Sadly, we don’t see it ourselves when we react this way.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to agree to disagree on things. It’s okay if you don’t agree with someone. It’s not the end of the world if things don’t go the way you want them to.

For things to change in our community and improve Clay County as a whole, we all must learn to agree and disagree.

You may be on top of the mountain today. You may think everyone loves you, but being petty can quickly diminish that.

I’ve served on several boards in my career. Some of those boards are filled with people with various opinions and are outspoken. Some sit there and will allow a personality like mine to take over and allow their thoughts to dictate the entire thing.

I’ve served on both. The ones with various opinions are my favorite.

I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t always have the best ideas. However, I enjoy hearing other people’s opinions and thoughts on why we should do this or that.

For example, on the board of education, we discuss everything we do. I’m the chairman, so I take the lead and present things many times. But I want their input on it. Maybe they have a better idea—and many times, they do!

Other members of the board also present things, we give our input, and we move forward.

That makes doing the right thing for our students work out much better than just one of us dictating the narrative.

If the goal is to do what’s best for our students, community, etc., this approach must be taken to achieve that goal.

You don’t have to like each other, but you need to work together to do what is best for your community.

It works great for us at the board of education, as all five members have one goal—to do what’s best for our students, staff, and community.

We’ve accomplished some great things so far and look forward to doing more.

As a community, let’s all come together, put our differences aside, and work for one common goal—to make our county the best it can be!

Onward. Forward.