Jonathan Meyer.

The dictionary defines civic pride as a feeling of satisfaction and positive regard for one’s city or community, often stemming from a sense of belonging and shared identity.

Recently, I’ve been really thinking about how our two towns line up with that definition. Both what we do well to create that sense of pride and what we do not so well and frankly poor. I’ve touched on this topic a few times before, but I think I have a little bit of a different point to make this time around.

So often, we just stay with things the way they’ve always been. We put up our walls and travel on autopilot. What happens around town is all so predictable yet we wonder why our sense of community dwindles at times.

I recently had a conversation with someone that I look up to and respect very much. We talked about the sense of community that was able to be felt after the Deracho in 2020. First off, what an awful price we paid to experience that community, but it was nice in the moment. It was still nice knowing that even something so terrible and costly to many people, could bring that sense of community at a time when it was needed the most. I remember people checking on their neighbors, giving food to the city crews as they cleared the streets, people sharing gas and generators. I think about all the resources available to our towns and everyone who came to help as we recovered from that storm.

Going back to the definition I brought up at the beginning, that storm was our shared identity. We all experienced it together and we were all on a level playing field. Our experiences in life may be different, but mother nature is sometimes the great equalizer.

My point being it’s hard to experience a sense of community when not everyone goes through the same things. We all have different struggles. Our lives have taken us different places. Some of us graduated from South Tama, but have stuck around while others have found work and a new life within our community.

This weekend I was in Solon running around Lake McBride. If you’ve ever been up that way, there’s a whole lot of public amenities. After my 12 mile run around the lake, I was sure glad that they had a splash pad right at the entrance. On my way to breakfast, I saw two playgrounds with kids playing. During my time in Solon, I felt engaged and inspired by their sense of community and I do think it plays out that way, because many of those people have similar backgrounds and life experiences.

I would love for us to get to a point of common appreciation. Let us strive to include all members of our community, not just people who look and think like us. While it’s not realistic to compare us to the bigger towns that have a much better socioeconomic situation, it is realistic to lead with our strengths and celebrate our rich and diverse cultural backgrounds.

Until next week when I share specific ways of reaching the goals I just layed out, I’m Just Jonathan.