Village Squire, 1980-06, Page 34Those creative few
who ask "why not?"
BY KEITH ROULSTON
"Some people look at things that are
and wonder why? I look at things that
might be and ask why not."
The words are one of the best legacies
left to the people of the world by Robert
Kennedy, assassinated more theme a decade
ago now on the threshold of what might
have been a successful campaign for the
presidency of the United States. There are
those who love the Kennedys, those who
hate them and those who are indifferent.
No matter what group you belong to you
cannot deny they left some of the most
memorable quotes of world leaders since
the death of Winston Churchill.
There are two kinds of people in the
world, the people who sit back and wonder
why things can't be better and the people,
the dreamers perhaps, who ask why not.
Why not make things better?
THREE GROUPS
Every community has these kinds of
people. Every community of more than a
few dozen people has three basic groups of
people. There is a small percentage you
might call the destroyers, the people who
give little and whose only act of creation is
to create problems for the rest. There's a
group on the other end who are the
creators, the people who have those
dreams Kennedy talked about, who make
things happen in their community. There's
another group, the vast majority, who live
day-to-day life without thinking much
about either of the two minority groups.
They care little about anything but having
a good job to let them buy the benefits of
material life and they'll tolerate the
extreme groups as long as they're not
forced to get involved in either.
Communities, societies, it seems to me,
Squire s Table
(Continued from Page 25)
club soda with lemon for the dieter, after
dinner coffee and a specially ordered
hamburger and apple juice for the
youngster accompanying us, the cheque
totalled $34.20. Not a bad price to pay for
excellent food, well cooked and served.
The Old Prune (co-owner Marion lsher
wood may greet you at the door; her
partner Eleanor Kane is in the kitchen) also
serves lunches quiche, crepes, salads and
soups ranging in price form $1.75 to $4,
and an afternoon tea from 3 to 4:30. As its
not open in the winter, make reservations
and eat thew during Stratford's busy
summer season.
PG. 32 VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1980
go up and down with the cycles of which of
the three groups have the most energy, or
lack of energy, at the time. Look back
through the history of any town, village or
city, and country or culture and you can see
periods when things were exciting, when
there was tremendous growth in economic
or cultural terms. You'll also see long
periods when things pretty much stayed
the same. Some communities will even
have black periods when stability was
shattered by destruction.
SMALL MINORITY
Of all the elements of the community it
is the small minority of creators that make
the difference. The creators may be
businessmen who have a better idea of
what the public wants in goods or services.
The creators could be politicians who see
the ability of government to improve
community life. The creators may be
leaders in community service clubs who
mobilize the power of their organization to
improve the community.
The creators can come from all fields of
work. Creative businessmen of course can
have the greatest impact of all on the
community. A businessman with bright
ideas, an interest in his or her community
and a strong financial backing can virtually
change the history of the community. Not
everyone will agree with the changes the
businessman brings of course but then no
one ever agrees on any change.
Next to businessmen politicians
probably have the most power in a
community. Take any small town and you
can see the times when things happened in
a community were when a group of creative
people got together in town council. Look
at it the other way and you'll likely see
those towns that have stood still have been
those which have had successive town
councils populated with stand -still people.
not creators.
The important thing about having the
creative people take over in a community is
that it breeds creativity in everybody else.
You can often see it in a small scale on the
main street of a town or city. If one
business comes out with a new store front
chances are the businessmen on either side
will start thinking about a new look for
their place and the first thing you know the
whole business area is sporting new fronts.
CREATIVITY BEGETS
In the same way creativity begets
creativity. If the creators are successful in
getting some of their ideas into operation
and those ideas are seen to work, then it
stimulates other less creative people in the
community to think about what they i 1
could do. There is an excitement about a
community in such a phase. That excite-
ment often attracts new people to the
community who in turn see that the
excitement keeps building. It is like a
snowball, rolling and gaining momentum.
It takes a lot of work to get the snowball
moving but once it is, it just keeps
growing.
But eventually the pattern dies. The
creators die off or' just get tired. The
stand -still, don't rock -the -boat crew takes
over, interested in a restful, relaxing life.
The xcitement dies, hopefully only
temporarily.
The people who look at things and
wonder why take over from the people who
look at things as they might be and wonder
why not.
What we have to do is keep prodding the
people who wonder why not, the dreamers
and creators. They are the people who can
do so much to make our lives better. We
have to convince them they need to take an
active part in their community or country.
We have to give them a pat on the back
when they get discouraged and give them a
helping hand when they get tired of the
battle.
Only the dreamers, the creators . can
:Hake this town, this country, this world, all
thai it should be.
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