THE OTHER SIDE:

A thought on the future

The future is anyone's guess. The past has been set and there is nothing anyone can do about it, the present is quickly fading, and all that is left is what will happen next.

The future of eastern Kentucky, the place I have called home for over twenty-five years, is not, as many people would like you to believe, up to the people that run the show. The judges, the mayors, the magistrates deal with infrastructure and maintaining the status quo while attempting to better the area through legislation. The is a key component of helping to better the way things are, but is only one half of what is needed to make a society better.

Eastern Kentucky, for example, is currently enthralled in a struggle with drug addiction. The people have little to do but sit back and watch what our government can not control. The people are dying due to this addiction, and no one can do anything about it.

Enforcement agencies such as UNITE and HIDTA make arrests and prosecute, but in the end when one gets cut down two more pop up to take that one's place. But believe it or not, the dealers are not the problem. The problem lies with the people that keep the dealers in business. As long as there is a demand for something there will always be a supply, but if there is no demand, there is no need for a supply. UNITE can arrest every dealer they can find, but ultimately, all that will do very little because there will still be a demand for the product.

How is it possible to get people to quell their use of drugs? One idea is to cut the supply, but another would be to cut the demand. This presents a problem within itself, because the demand is something that is particular from person to person. This type of future is dependent on these people, and not the people that run the show. You can pass all the laws you want, but there will always be people out there that are willing to break them.

The economy is also an uncertain future in eastern Kentucky. Coal is currently booming and a jobs are available. The uncertainty comes when only one industry is supporting the economy. If coal were to vanish tomorrow, eastern Kentucky's economy would falter and the jobless rates would swell.

In order to instill a capable economy, there has to be some other sort of industry to put into place. Coal, while it has been good to the people of the region, is a limited resource and will not always be available. The timber industry capitalizes on a renewable resource, but it takes years for that resource to replenish. Industries based on natural resources are good, viable industries, but there has to be something else to draw jobs if eastern Kentucky is to survive in the future. How are jobs brought into the area? Simple, better education.

Again, education is something that the people running the show cannot provide for the masses. The masses must educate themselves. Governmental aid in finances is a way of helping an education, but in the end financial aid can not educate a mind. The people have to want to be educated and have to want to sustain themselves for future generations. No one can make the people do this, but it is paramount if the region is to look forward and not be complacent.

It seems that in today's society the people are happy with sitting back and letting government do what they will. It is little wonder why the Supreme Court is able to allow the government to seize homes for business opportunities. It is little wonder why every time you turn on the television you hear of a politician being investigated. Complacency is the government's best friend.