The following is an excerpt from a column I wrote in 2016. With less than one week until city-wide elections, I thought it to be relevant for candidates and voters alike.
“There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
These immortal words of Sen. Robert Kennedy have echoed through our nation’s history for decades.
Kennedy’s life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet, but the question lives on, “Why not?”
I often think of this when looking at the potential of my hometown. I absolutely love Minden and have all my life. I see the potential in its people, its economy and its impact on the rest of the world.
When I take a step back, I can see the greatness of Minden:
I see how we come together each February to raise more than $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and wonder, “What could we accomplish if we had that kind of unity all year long?”
I see Northwest Louisiana Technical College as a “shining city on a hill” in the area of higher education. We have the college we’ve always wanted in Minden, and it’s on the cutting edge in many ways.
I see the seeds of entrepreneurial growth in the businesses being planted by young people in the community. They aren’t just leaving for the “big city.” They are staying, coming back, and investing in their hometown.
I see our students receiving a quality education, if they choose to apply themselves. Don’t believe me? Just sit through any of our high school graduations and you will see countless students earning academic honors and scholarships.
With all that is going well for Minden, why aren’t we growing as a community? Maybe the better question should hearken back to Sen Kennedy, “Why not?” However in this case, let’s look at things the way they could be.
Its time to not only ask “Why not Minden?” but to follow Nike’s lead and “Just do it.”
David A. SPecht Jr. is editor and publisher of the Minden Press-Herald.