OpEdNews - Diary: Notes from a Querulous Editor

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"Is That all There is?" Such is a song which pops in my head as February promises longer days, but produces roiling clouds and yoyo temperatures. Sitting at the keyboard, the song runs through my ears. Many may hear Frank Sinatra. My hear Lou Rawls. So! Seems like we won the election! Until now, it's not too certain if we are winning the agenda. The queue of submissions by OpEdNews members bring out a hint of habitual whining, which copies my own complaint. Why are we not happy? For my part, I looked forward to thinking positive--studying knotty issues and seeking sagacious analyses from the eager beavers who helped the new president get a head start on what we sense is a big challenge. Perhaps I'm just a little achy from chilly breezes coming from MSM. I look out the window and see green coming back in the lawn. Is that a sign of grassroots leaving their hibernation, post inauguration? What Issues are important to me? Here are a few hints: 1) It was good to see that anti-paddling advocates are working on outlawing such a medieval form of educational motivation. Twenty-three states still allow it in schools, I learned. 2) In regard to learning disabilities, it seems the American Society of Autism is gaining traction on funding. Schools are bedrock to help in that regard. 3) And there is even a hint that community colleges are taking their place in the sun, stimulated perhaps by the fact that they teach skills for the century we are living in. 4) Right next to education (as topic) comes journalism. At core, teachers and journalists are related. In the case of journalists, they also have the task of staying employed--where hard copy is vanishing and television uses practically no investigative talent. 5) Energy. Whose? What kind? How much? Are we missing something when gasoline grabs major attention? At the risk of beating a dead horse (Pinto, Mustang and others) should we persist in believing that to run ever more wheels over deteriorating thoroughfares is the way to go? Where are the examples of successful stories on alternative transportation? We're up to our eyeballs on "alternative energy." 6) It's impossible to dwell too much on personal liberty. Shall we dissect everyone's religion one more time. Or think in terms of polite conversation, a new connotation for PC? 7) Never will there come a time when we won't need to question the actions (perhaps motives) of our elected and appointed leaders. That seems like a given for articles. As an editor, I respect private opinions on such matters. However, it seems that to write another article of OpEd opinion--without referring to specific occurrences, articles or TV punditry--often leaves the reader with nothing but the equivalent of back fence chitchat. 8) More than anything I long to read about what is rightly called human interest. The couple who finds love though autistic. The daughter of a civil rights leader who was murdered in the 60s. The union worker's kid who persists. What did Joe McCarthy do in someone's life? How about books read--which have meaning in today's skitter skatter world. If any of this helps to point your itchy fingers toard the keyboard, good! There's a lot to discuss in this year of Deep Recession. Now that I've got this off my chest, I'll see what I can do to find a fresh attitude.