One Small Thing for 2002
The tradition of making new year's resolutions seems to exist now as only the basis for comic strip jokes or part of a late-night talk show monologue. That's understandable since it appears that stating such resolutions is only verbalizing what we know we won't be doing in the coming year.
Still the turning of the year causes us to naturally reflect on where we are in our lives and how that compares to where we want to be. For me there's little worth in turning such reflection into a broad resolution to, say, lose weight or exercise, but it often does suggest something small but worthwhile that I can do.
For example on the way home from dropping off a donation to the Monmouth County Humane Society I started thinking how I should do more to help. And being me the ideas were, well, a bit grand, and because of that I knew from experience I'd never do them. Then I thought, "How about one small thing? I'll skip going out to eat one week next year and donate that money to the Society."
OK, not only far from grand but also far from original. Far from what we normally consider a new year's resolution. But, far more importantly, it's one small thing which I actually could do.
Every so often Monmouth libertarians tell me how they've resolved to do more to help build the party here in our county. While their intentions vary they usually have one thing in common: they're grand. It can range from a coordinated campaign to send monthly letters to the editor of every county newspaper to going from door to door to every house in their town before the next election. And like those grand personal new year's resolutions to drop 20 pounds or go to the gym three times a week, they seem to never get executed.
Instead of making a resolution, big or small, silent or verbalized, it would be so much better if all of us simply did one thing; one small but meaningful thing.
Write a letter -- one letter one time to one newspaper. Bring one neighbor one time to one event. Make one small donation one time to one candidate. Put one campaign lawn sign on your lawn or one bumper sticker on your car. Send the "Voter Declaration of Party Affiliation" card to the county election board in order to register as a Libertarian.
Like many in the post-WW II generation I derive no small amount of my personal philosophy from popular culture. At the risk of misquoting from memory, I think of Yoda's words: "Do or do not; there is no try." Or the message from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" -- "Don't dream it; be it."
A few real dollars to help rescue one stray animal is far more meaningful than the grandest resolution I could ever make to help the Humane Society. So too one letter to the editor or one bumper sticker on your car would do more to help build the LP here in Monmouth County then the grandest plans, no matter how worthwhile, that go unexecuted.
Pat Bontempo
County Chair