With the beginning of the new year, many of us have resolved to get our priorities in order. With a fresh start, we imagine it time to get fit, organized and ranked. We make lists, join gyms and plan for the year. Good. It is important to take the occasional account of our journey. Are we where we want to be? Or, at least, are we moving in the right direction?
But from our lists of good intentions, too often we believe that we can do them all – even that we should. We overbook, overcommit and overall fail to pull it off. It is not that each item doesn’t matter, it is that we don’t weigh them by rank importance. Losing a few pounds may be more critical than reading “The Complete Works of Shakespeare,” or vice versa. It is easy with two choices, not so with 20.
This week, Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder reported that his city saw the shootings of 33 people and 14 stabbings, with sseven killed, including two infants, in the weeks between Christmas and New Year’s. He cited jail issues and accountability for juveniles while exclaiming “violence is rapidly surging” in our capital. Last week, his elected city council announced its intention to focus on climate change and their own pay increases. Good priorities, perhaps. But what of violent crime? Do they merit the same weight on our list? What is the balance?
