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Highlands Today

The Day After: Time To Heal Wounds And Move Forward

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2008

By the time you read this, there will be a new president and - barring election upheavals - we'll know who won all the local races. Regardless of winners and losers, the real work begins today.

The most difficult for some folks will be accepting the results of yesterday's election. That's true every Election Day, but this year there's likely to be more animosity. Hurt feelings, elation and sore losers always result, but our county, state and nation have too many issues to address to have whiners carrying on about this or that for too long.

No matter who wins the White House, he will need Americans to do more than ever to get our country on the right track. That will require sacrifice. Too many Americans who didn't grow up during The Great Depression or World War II don't know what that means. Sure, many of us sacrifice for personal reasons, but to sacrifice for a greater good is something that too many people are unwilling or unable to manage.

We're fighting two wars that require no sacrifice unless our friends or loved ones are in harm's way. We are financing those wars on deferred loans and our grandchildren will pay the bills. We're running deficits never seen before, and once again it will be our children and grandchildren who pay for it. What a terrible legacy to pass down and it's safe to say that future generations will hold us responsible.

It's time to get our economic house in order. It's our top priority and trumps tax cuts, pet projects, special interests or anything else. We cannot solve one problem as a nation until our economy improves. It doesn't matter who's president.

As for local politics, our county commission has huge issues ahead of it. Big cuts are coming and how they are made will affect a lot of people. Extremely difficult decisions are necessary, and our elected leaders will be expected to lead, not follow what is politically expedient. That's hard to do when you live in a small county like Highlands. There's no hiding from people.

Our sheriff's office will have lots of work ahead as well. It's been a bitter campaign with two quality candidates. Sour feelings will exist, no doubt, but it's time to move forward. We don't have time for that nonsense.

We congratulate all the candidates in this year's election and are thankful they stepped forward to be part of the democratic process. Whether we agreed or disagreed, we honor the people who put it on the line, in front of the public, and worked hard for months to earn votes.

So while today is only one day after the election, it's time to look forward, mend relationships if necessary, and do what's right for the citizens of our county, state and nation. It's the only way our system works, and we need it to work now more than ever.

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