By Regina Davis
Macon Roving Listeners
I believe that we can all agree that this has been quite a tumultuous year throughout these great United States. We have had many personal and collective challenges that we have had to overcome. The simple fact that we are right here, right now lets us know that we did, in fact, overcome whatever 2018 sent our way. That is not to say that this past year did not have its positive moments, but those moments were often overshadowed by the ills of the world and the disappointments that came with trying relentlessly to change the trajectory of our personal lives and beyond.
Our beloved community of Macon was no different. Macon endured political and economic setbacks, rampant crime, exposure of the deep, dark secrets of our community’s homeless situation, untimely deaths and murders of our youth, an embattled educational system and gross disparity across socio-economic lines.
Yet, in the words of the late Maya Angelou, still we rise. Our city was visited by high-powered political figures. New home construction has begun anew. Graduation rates continue to improve. Voter turnout has reached new heights. Macon has more churches per capita than any other city. To top it off, Macon is still the heart of the state of Georgia.
There is no doubt that Macon has its good, bad and ugly. There is no person or group to blame or give credit to for that. The good comes from the long legacy of endurance that the citizens of Macon have exhibited for decades. These decades consisted of Civil War, the cotton trade, segregation, integration, Jim Crow laws, crime and poverty. There are still many issues that need to be addressed. Yet, all hope is not lost.
All eyes are on Macon. Macon can be a greater community. There are some skills that we are going to have to learn to put into practice for that to happen. We are going to have to employ more active listening, more empathy, more compassion, more consideration but most of all, more love. We have all been placed here together, whether we like it or not. Therefore, for our beloved community of Macon to thrive, we must simply love and care for one another in a more profound way. The community cannot afford to continue to try to hide the ugly under the rug. The great disparity that exists between the haves and the have-nots must be addressed and obliterated. Any divisiveness that exists must be reconciled.
As I stated earlier, Macon is the heart of Georgia. In our bodies, the heart is responsible for the proper function of most other organs. So it is with Macon. What happens here is vital to the rest of the state. Whatever Macon presents is a model for the rest of Georgia. Each of us must take the initiative to take a stand for what is right and for what is good. We must all believe and live by the fact that something good can come out of any given situation. The future of Macon, Georgia, and each Maconite depends on it.
For 2019, let us all resolve to live right, do right and most of all love right so that all our dreams, hopes and aspirations may be fulfilled in the upcoming year and years to come. Peace and blessings to all.