Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

By Rex D Ricks

There is no "I" in "team". WE all need to work together to make our community a better place for US to live and future generations.

Unfortunately, I have seen far too many people in our town simply look out for 3 people: me, myself, and I. Being an individual is to be cherished. But, not looking out for one another simply means WE are merely a collection of apathetic randoms. Instead, WE should shift the paradigm to being a community of teamwork. WE all in this together. WE should collectively determine our city's destiny.

One should not just look out for what is best for their own immediate precinct, or demographic group. Otherwise, we will become a Balkanized city. That is just what the failed re-districting plan attempted. It was simply a divide and conquer tactic designed to pit neighbor versus neighbor.

Redistricting would have been very bad to the city as there would have been councilmembers that would have been indifferent to the districts they do not represent. Then, there would have been councilmembers who figured, "Hey this person just made a bad vote on a project impacting my district. So now it's payback time!" Do WE really want to this kind of governance? Absolutely not!

When it comes to athletic and academic competitions we can have (friendly) rivalries. Those of us who attended High School in our fine city were either Chargers, Oilers, Seahawks, or Vikings. But at the end of the competition, WE all shake hands, say good game, and remember that WE are all proud residents of Surf City.

Then the people out there who do not learn history are bound to repeat it. Here is a phrase from Martin Niemoeller, German Lutheran Pastor (1892-1984):

"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."

I will paraphrase that to a current situation that WE all face today in our city:

"In Huntington Beach they came first for mobile home owners, and I didn't speak up because I didn't live in a mobile home. Then, they came for a desal plant in Southeast Huntington Beach , and I didn't speak up because I didn't live in Southeast Huntington Beach. Then Then they came for The Bolsa Chica Wetlands, and I didn't speak up because I didn't live near The Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Then they came for those near the Ascon Dump, and I didn't speak up because I live too far away from it. Then they came for Long Beach Airport expansion, which impacted my neighborhood, and by that time no one was left to speak up."

So let's all speak up for each other when WE see that a NEIGHBOR's quality of life is threatened. A little good karma goes a long ways. The seeds we plant today is the harvest of tommorrow. Besides, WE would accomplish so much more by scratching each others backs rather than stabbing it.

Visualize and BELIEVE in a community where people of all stripes, political parties, and backgrounds come together to work for the common good for all. That can start with city leaders who value their neighbors on the opposite end of town just as much as their own immediate neighbors.