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Community Corner

Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way

Why put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after tomorrow?

Following the announcement by the Boy Scouts of America that they were considering changing the policy regarding those who could serve as leaders of scout troops, people responded negatively in such great numbers the leaders decided to delay the decision. It was announced the decision will now be made in May.

In another example of delayed decision-making, Congress is once again faced with a decision regarding the debt limit. The Senate and House of Representatives in Washington are still waiting after four plus years to receive a budget proposal from the White House.

Under the Gold Dome, I often attend committee hearings conducted to receive comments from citizens on certain bills. Many times at the end of those hearings, it is announced that a decision will be made at a later time.

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Each of these examples proves, at least to me, that we have become a nation of procrastinators. We have adopted the saying I heard as a young teen, “Why put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after tomorrow?”

Often, we hear about couples who date or live together for many years before they finally decide to marry. It is thought that the longer one delays making a decision, the more certain they will be to make the right decision. That is not always the case. I am not an advocate for quick or harsh decisions to be made immediately, but there is a time to decide and move forward.

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For all who watched the commercials during the Super Bowl (or any other time), the urging is to act immediately. We are often told in commercials (when a deal is presented that we just cannot pass up) that there is a time limit on the special price. We sometime hear, “Call today,” “Act now,” or “The first 10 callers will receive this special price.” All that rhetoric lets us know how urgent our decision is and that it must be made immediately to be able to receive special attention and the good price for an item.

After saying all of that, I wonder when we will know what really happened in Benghazi. The delay in getting to the answer has now pushed the story out of the headlines.

With the practice of putting off decisions until a later date and pushing the can down the road for another day and time, we are moving backward instead of forward in our country. We were told that certain economic decisions had to be made quickly in order to block the financial woes of our country. We were told that Obamacare must be passed immediately to assure every person in the nation would be covered with insurance. It is now revealed that the cost of the insurance is out of the reach of the average American and that many people will never be covered by the promised healthcare.

From where I stand, the time has come to say to our politicians; “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

Follow Ray Newman on Twitter @RayNewmanSr

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