What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Instead of complaining, community members should step up and buy-in
Why don't people just step up to the plate? Be responsible and have a bit of 'buy-in'.
You may be asking what am I on about.
Well, recently I've come to the conclusion that people are simply selfish and self-centred.
That's probably a little bit of a broad statement, but I believe I too often fall victim to the 'easy way out' scenario.
A case of, 'I'll just leave that for someone else to do', or 'it's someone else's job, I'll close my eyes, and the situation or problem will go away'.
Through my everyday life encounters, being a schoolteacher, a councillor and your average citizen, I see cop-outs all the time.
Because local government is the system of governance that is most at the coalface, you do get a lot of face-to-face feedback.
Don't get me wrong, I love the raw interaction, and that's why I'm in the game, but a fair share of the feedback is often negative.
'Why can't the council do this?' 'Why can't the council do that?'
Often, I totally understand the situation, but I am also privy to the big picture where there is only so much money, and choices have to be made.
Which brings me to a recent light bulb moment.
Governments at all levels pay individuals to provide a service — from within the organisation or outsourced.
Often budget restraints mean these services become limited, often resulting in certain areas missing out.
And this can lead to community angst.
But couldn't this shortfall in services be met with the use of volunteers?
For example, overgrown grass verges could be cut by residents who live nearby, individuals could donate trees and assist with adding to the canopy coverage in the city.
Perhaps, once a week, families could empty overflowing public rubbish bins in their neighbourhoods.
Maybe, a group of retirees could volunteer to clean the public barbecues every couple of days.
I'm just throwing these ideas out there.
And I'm sure, many of you will say: 'Why should we do this or that, isn't that the council's job, or isn't that the Government's job?'
'Why should I do it?'
Because, at the end of the day, I believe we all need to take some ownership in our communities, some healthy buy-in.
As you may know, I just love and admire the famous Kennedy family, especially JFK. He said in a speech not long before he died: 'Increased responsibility goes with increased ability, for, of those to whom much is given, much is required.'
Let's be prepared to give a little back, hey.
Peter Fiorenza hosts Sports Shed Saturday (9am to noon) and Fiorenza on Sunday (10am to noon) on Radio MAMA
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