Apathy

July 4th, 2008
One voice is a solo, but many voices are a choir. If ever there was a need for a choir, now is time. This reminds me of a sentence I used to type in typing class in high school. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.
Apathy is a huge obstacle to overcome. It is really easy to say to oneself that I am only one voice and what I say doesn’t amount to a hill of beans; They are going to do what they are going to do and there is nothing I can do about it. If that is what you are thinking, then it is going to happen. It doesn’t make any difference if you are talking about Hyperion or life in general. If you take that attitude, you are beat before you have started, and you can’t let that happen.
With all the happenings going on in the Siouxland area right now, truer words were never spoken. Apathy is starting to set in and that is not a good idea. Many people are thinking that because the election on the Hyperion application is over, it is over. That is not true. The battle is still going on and this is not the time to be sitting wondering what to do next.
I’ll bet I haven’t seen 5 letters to the editor in any of the area papers about Hyperion. This is exactly what they are hoping for. It is like that old saying, out of sight, out of mind. They are hoping we will resign ourselves to the fact that since the election is over it is time to accept the inevitable. The refinery is coming. What a crock! I said when this ordeal first started that Hyperion has no intention of building a refinery in South Dakota, and I’m still convinced that is the case. However, I am only one voice. We need many, many voices screaming from the rafters saying that we are not going to let this happen. Hyperion still has many obstacles to overcome before this refinery becomes a reality. They have at least 2 or 3 years of hearings to go through. Hyperion has many applications that must be approved, and the fat lady hasn’t started singing yet.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of governments, both state and local taking the stance and going with the idea that they can do whatever they want because we are not able to stop them. I think it is time to take government back and put it in the hands of the people. I know all the elected officials reading this are saying I’m talking through my hat, but I’m here to tell you, it is true. A perfect example is taking place right now in Union County.
There is a public hearing set for the 14th of July on the revisions to the zoning ordinance document. I know people are saying this will be the third time in two years that this is coming to a vote and quite frankly people are tired of the petition and election process. It is like time is standing still. The problem is that special interests are dictating what is happening with this ordinance. There are those of us who are trying to look out for the people of this county but our voice is being ignored. The only way change is going to take place is if we are persistent and demand change. Otherwise, they are going to do as they please and do not have our best interests at heart.
I’m here to tell you that if your voices are loud enough that government will listen and then acquiesce to what the people want. If you sit back and say nothing, it is like assuming that if you say nothing, nothing is wrong. They say that if you don’t vote you can’t complain. That holds true for changes in what your local government is doing. If you say nothing and don’t complain, they assume that what they are doing is okay.