Welcome to mcdowellnews.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

mcdowellnews.com - The McDowell News

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

Combs: Optimists see hope as Washington self-destructs

Ideas for a bright future

By Britt Combs | The McDowell News

Published: August 26, 2009

Last week's column addressed the possibility that the Washington government will collapse and disintegrate the same way the Russian one did less than two decades ago. It was gratifying to see that it struck a chord. The e-mail response was intriguing.

I mean, it's taboo, isn't it? A good, loyal, patriotic American is not supposed to imagine the day might come when the government that claims the right to grant life to or take it away from Americans could someday cease to exist. But history teaches that each and every government will collapse. None have endured very long, in all the story of civilized man. And so will this one pass away. The way it has behaved and is currently behaving, with unchecked borrowing, issuing worthless checks and a steady series of military adventures, it's a wonder it has lasted so long.

A disturbing response to that column was the idea that an America without Washington is somehow "negative." A few writers said imagining the future of McDowell without Washington was "hopeless" and that it offered young people "nothing to look forward to."

That made me sad. The idea that Americans could have no hope for the future without Washington to hold our hands -- I would have thought that sort of thinking collapsed with the fall of the Soviets or the Nazis. It's startling to learn there are Americans out there who see the Washington government as their only hope for a decent life.

The reaction surprised me, not only because of the emotional dependence on federal power it implied, but because I thought the vision I described was a genuinely hopeful one. It has been my experience that the most memorable times in my life, the ones I look back on fondly and happily, were the times I was under stress, and had to rely on myself and friends and family for solutions. Theses moments give live meaning. It is true for a society as well as for an individual. A people come into their own in times of upheaval. Winston Churchill would call it the people's "finest hour."

Washington basically survives on it ability to give money away. When it can no longer write checks, it'll fall instantly. And that will be a golden moment. I see the bankruptcy of Washington as our finest hour.

Several readers agreed. Some suggested ways a community like McDowell would carve its own future, creating an avenue to prosperity and happiness for the most people. It was profoundly inspiring and thought-provoking.

One suggested community-wide victory gardens springing up where abandoned textile mills now stand like reminders of better times that will never come back.

I had a conversation with a reader about the possibility of McDowell becoming an alternative fuels Mecca. In some ways it is already happening. Local visionaries are building enterprises to produce fuel, energy and food through recycling, bio-diesel and other so-called "green" enterprise. Local government and schools are getting on board, without waiting for help from Washington. What could be more exciting?

There was even talk of making McDowell the most bicycle friendly community in America, with bike lanes on every street, road and highway. Imagine the rich yuppies who would be attracted to this corner of heaven, if it embraced their passion for green transportation. Imagine the money they'd bring!

Life will go on, although the government will be bankrupt and will be fundamentally altered. What we now know as the United States, with its government in Washington, may change or cease to be, but we Americans will continue. More importantly, North Carolina will still be here. And McDowell will still be our home.

I genuinely, sincerely believe the prospects for McDowell County are very good. We must adapt to present realities, but the hardest part will be getting our minds around the grim reality that our federal government has a death wish.

The most inspiring thing of all has been to learn from so many of you how many good ideas there are out there, how many innovative visionaries there are waiting only for the heavy yoke of taxes, restrictions, regulations, and bureaucratic limitations to be lifted.

I'd like to hear from more of you. I hope you'll e-mail your ideas. It is amazing what the human mind can conceive when the blinders of dependency are removed. You have made me excited about the future.

McDowell News reporter and columnist Britt Combs, welcomes your comments.

Your ideas make the difference! Comment publicly below, or for a response, e-mail Combs by clicking his name at the top of this column.