Solutions

Commentary by Dave Freneaux

    A number of years ago during a particularly hectic week one of my managers rushed into my office and proclaimed “We have a problem!”  Having more than my share of problems to deal with already, I responded “I already have enough problems, what I need are solutions.”  This was not a new concept, but it became very real to me that day and has become one of the cornerstones of my philosophy of life.  There is always a way, and even then, there is always a better way.

    This past seven years in Central has confirmed for me that “solutions are the answer to everything.” (Redundant I know, but it makes my point.)  Raising a family in Central, Mia and I volunteered countless hours in Central’s public schools that our girls attended under the EBR school system.  For us and for hundreds of parents, that was our “solution” to shore up the quality of a declining EBR school system, at least for our kids in Central.  Then came the “Big Solution” of creating Central’s independent school district for ALL Central Children.  I hesitate to give anyone credit because so many were instrumental in this effort, but I know I could not even START a list of those who brought the solution without including names like Simmons, Starns, Guilbeau, White and Bonvillain.  These and others saw the problems and brought a solution.

    A friend shared with me a few years ago that “there are only two types of people in the world: people who try to say yes, and people who try to say no.”  It did not take me long to start seeing that truth in almost every important situation I observed.  Try it the next time you see a conflict or people working through a difficult problem.  My bet is that you will quickly identify the ones who are looking for a way to say yes, and that you will see even more quickly the ones who are trying to say no.  From amongst the group who “try to say yes,” you will inevitably find the ones who bring solutions rather than lament all the problems they see.

    And so it is with the City of Central.  Starting with the problem that we would not likely be allowed to create a school system unless we first incorporated as a city, a group began to bring solutions.  There are too many to thank for their decision to “try to say yes,” but again we find names like Rome, Starns, White, Green, Jacobs, Moak, Richardson, Lansing, Ross, and DeJohn.  Faced with the problem of creating a city from scratch with no “how to” book, they brought the solution of privatization.   That solution has put Central on firm financial ground.  Faced with the problem of a lawsuit to stop the incorporation, they brought a solution in Attorney Sheri Morris.  Every obstacle was viewed not as a problem, but as an opportunity to find a solution.

    If you have read this far, thank you, and here is my point.  As you watch the back and forth of government and politics in Central, don’t be fooled by the rhetoric.  The turn of a phrase or a single popular sound bite gets trumpeted as a cause to rise up and be heard, while the problems persist and go unaddressed.   Every four years politicians find a reason to stand up and yell, “the Loop is a Problem! No Loop!” while seldom offering a solution to traffic problems.  It is popular for challengers to claim that the problem with our elected officials is that they waste tax dollars, but watch and see if those same candidates do their research and offer real solutions for more efficient government.

    Step back from the debate and the words used by Central’s obviously divided City Council, and look instead at what they do.  If you hear complaints about problems and no real and well researched solutions are offered, it is just grandstanding and political rhetoric.  Don’t be fooled by the words.  Look instead at the actions and lives of those we elect as leaders in Central.  What solutions do they bring?  What do they actually DO when faced with problems, complain and say no, or rise up and try to say yes?  Perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: "What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say."