The following are thoughts that come to mind that connect us to the rest of the world:

I was talking to someone about the Air France Jet that crashed off the coast of Brazil. They stated that it was a tragedy because there were two Americans on board. I had to ask why was it not a tragedy simply because human beings died?

Every day I read the New York Times (sorry, The Brazil Times is not my only source of news) where more U.S. soldiers are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why aren't we counting the civilians? Are they not our brothers as well?

"Do not underestimate what seeds can get planted when American leaders don't just propagate their values, but visibly live them." A quote from someone who listened to the President's speech last week. That pretty much says it all.

We can't just talk the talk. Too many times we are disconnected to what is going on in the world that we think that everyone else must think as we do. We forget that God gave us all the choice to honor Him in the way we choose so we need to realize that others may have a different faith tradition that they feel is just as valid as our own. Is it Christian for us to tell them ours is better or is it a true sign of Christianity to treat them as full brothers as we are all children of God, even if there is a lot of 'sibling' rivalry going on in the world?

Then there is the news about another sister state that mirrors what Governor Daniels has been attempting here, minimizing local government to reduce administrative costs. An A-ha moment for me. "Our man Mitch" is only copying what New York State has had in progress so he is only following their example and using their idea. Good or bad??

Opinion falls down on both sides in Indiana as to the value of keeping or dispensing with townships. Might be a good idea to look at other states as examples to see which have done so already and how it is really working out for them.

Same with school districts. Why not read up on how other schools in the country with similar populations are coping with economic/educational issues of today and what their successes/failures have been? I'm sure that results will help us make decisions locally that would have a more positive result.

For example: We haven't changed our school boundary lines in at least 15 years now. Are the same number of students still living in each area? Would we better utilize our school buildings by looking at realigning those lines so we might balance it out a little better?

Gone are the days where a county can remain isolated from the rest of the world. Whether we curse the technology or welcome it. It has firmly connected Clay County with the rest of the world. No longer are we only able to compare our accomplishments to each other. We must put ourselves up to the greater scale of the entire world.

We had better start at least looking at what's going on so we can know what we are up against. What better way than to see what has worked and what hasn't in other locations. We can't afford to wait to think of our own ways any longer.

Why not use the ideas that have already been in place in other locations that have been proven to work instead of stubbornly insisting on doing it the way we have for 40 years? What worked then may not be the best way to do it now.

I think that has already been proven with our high poverty rate, high unemployment (11 percent), high substance abuse, high child neglect/abuse rate, high teen pregnancy rate, poor roads, poor water infrastructure, low tax revenue rate, etc., etc.

It used to be that when these things were topic of conversation, it was information about some third world country a soldier brought back with them. Now it is happening here. Soon, our houses and land will be even harder to market. Then the tax revenue will drop further.

Then even less money will be available for schools and other infrastructure. If we don't wake up soon, we will have been left behind.

Hopefully, it is not too late already. It is no longer a conservative vs. liberal issue. It is an issue of survival.

We must do what it takes to allow Clay County to survive. Quickly.