Dear Editor: Politics - Not My Favorite Topic

This is not my favorite topic, but I figured it 'tis the season, so here goes. Of course, I'm referring to election or political season. I do NOT like politics! I do my best not to get involved; I rarely vote, except for local elections occasionally. Speaking of local elections/politics, although I STILL would rather not get involved, I DO plan to vote this time.

The biggest complaint I've been hearing lately from those who live in town (I do not) is the increased water rates while still dealing with the same quality water. As I said, I'd rather not get into all the political flip-flap, so I'm sure there's more to the issue than that, but this is not the only complaint I've heard. In my own words, one major complaint might run something like this: "It seems our Town is more concerned with surface issues than in getting to the heart of the problem. Part of this is the aging infrastructure (plumbing, etc.); another recent issue is the infamous Babies at Work Policy implemented at Town Hall. As far as this matter goes, a mother and child should not be separated, especially during the first formative months or even years, but that is neither here nor there. If the mothers in question can do their jobs efficiently while also taking care of their babies, more power to them!

Getting back to politics, my main point is that wherever we land on certain issues that impact our little town (though I live outside of Whitehall, I still refer to it as MY Town), rather than bickering about the politics of the surface issues, maybe by focusing on the heart of the matter, the surface issues would smooth themselves out! What IS the heart of the matter? I'm referring to, of course, the human heart. Here's where politics comes in...we're ALL different, with varied opinions, likes, dislikes, etc, but we all have a choice. We can constantly be at each other's throats because he said/did this or she said/did that, or we could accept each other's differences and do what we need for the town's good! I'm not necessarily talking about the greater good, though that's not such a bad idea. We need to focus on our own heart issues. Why? Why does this bother us? Why does that cause the veins to pop out on our forehead? Maybe if we can smooth out our own wrinkles, we can better focus on making Whitehall the welcoming little town it can be! Thanks for listening.

CHARLES HADDON SHANK

Whitehall, Montana