We are living in trying and frightening times that have many of us worrying about the security and safety of our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves. Every day, we hear about national and global happenings that threaten to change the “world as we know it” and bring unknown consequences to our lives.
There is so much to fear that it is tempting to put up barriers to keep the bad things away and hunker down into our small protected sense of the “way things should be.” But I have always found that the best way to banish fear is to open up and fully embrace the world in all its complexity.
Love and compassion are the required elements of safety and security, not armor and shields that only serve to reinforce the justification for feeling scared. To make our community safer, we need to be generous with our love and understanding. That means voting YES on 2 on the Nov. 5 ballot question to enact the Safe City Ordinance.
We are only as safe as the most vulnerable people living amongst us, and while the current mayoral executive order provides temporary protections, it does not offer the long-term security necessary for building a resilient community. Only a law passed by the City Council and voters of Greenfield will show that we are truly a city without fear and one that finds strength in the love between neighbors.
Sarah Pilzer
Greenfield