Humanity is complex. We’re capable of incredible good and frustrating failure. We make wise choices… and some that aren’t. Sometimes, we shape our environment. Other times, it shapes us. Earlier this month, I made a promise: to focus on the positive throughout July. A month that marks the 249th anniversary of our nation’s founding, a time to reflect on the freedoms we have and the future we want. I have had a lot of feedback on our posts recently, and it is true, that the positive posts tend to get great responses. This makes so much sense to me because I also like to look on the positive side of things.
There is an eclectic mix of people in Falmouth. Many crave that positive side and only want to concentrate on it, and I cannot blame them. They are comfortable, and they deserve to be. It is true they work hard and just want to enjoy raising their families or living their lives. If one thing has been shown to me, though, it’s that there are so many who are uncomfortable—uncomfortable on a regular basis. They dislike the fact that the town infrastructure is falling apart. They dislike the fact that they are promised improvements and only get the status quo. Some of them don’t feel safe. Some of them have been slighted. Many of them mistreated by a system that is supposed to uplift everyone. These people also deserve to be comfortable.
It’s a fragile balance, reporting on a town’s struggles while still wanting to uplift it. Too much sugar-coating, and nothing changes.
So let’s speak in facts:
Falmouth is home to great people. It holds real opportunity. But it also suffers under a system that, instead of lifting us up, holds us down like a weight.
Familiar Faces, Unfamiliar Outcomes
Many of those in power here aren’t strangers. They’re neighbors. Friends. People you wave to on your morning walk. But over years, an engine has formed, not necessarily of evil intent, but of inept practices. It churns forward, slow and heavy, keeping everyone, even the well-meaning, stuck in “just survive” mode. No one person is to blame. But if Falmouth were a sinking boat, each of us would need a bucket to bail. It’s not just one official responsible for the water pressure failures, the broken sidewalks, the stop signs hidden behind overgrowth. But when these problems remain, year after year, someone should be held accountable. These are the people we vote into office.
Voting and Vision
Every vote is a declaration of trust, that someone will take these problems head-on. But far too often, the mindset reverts to “business as usual.” It’s like preparing for a championship by learning to dribble and never moving past it. Falmouth doesn’t need the same old playbook. Not in any form. This town is full of pride, strength, and potential. So while we continue spotlighting what makes Falmouth beautiful, we also have to envision how it can be built into the town it is supposed to be. I’ve seen seen great ideas and heard great ideas about how to bring more positivity and progress to Falmouth. Ideas that never seem to make it to the light of day. In order to achieve that new day you need both a restructuring of what is broken and good ideas that will fuel the future.
The system is cracked and faulty but the system is not what changes anything. In fact, the system is supposed to manage what is, it isn’t even designed to be innovative. You are, people are though and the first step in building that better future is simple. Little steps one at a time, rinse and repeat by everyone. You can be part of what’s next. You can change the world. A new chapter powered by real ideas, real people, and real effort. We don’t have to live in survival mode. We don’t have to accept the status quo. We can do better. All it takes is one step. Then another.
Send us your ideas.
Share your whispers.
Be part of something more.
Whisper One Out,
Chris Collins
Founder, The Falmouth Whisper