Try solving problems yourself first

I have a beautiful cactus garden right next to my mailbox on the sidewalk along the street. When in bloom it’s almost as entrancing as the most botanically healthy bougainvillea that flows into the neighbor’s yard along with it. We share our mailbox platform with this neighbor (we’ll call him “Danny”), but the plants are rooted on our property.

I feel like Danny also enjoys the beauty of these plants between our homes as it also brings a nice curb appeal to both homes. However, as a self-proclaimed green thumb (not really, but, hey, it’s cactus; it grows like a weed), I know shrubs benefit greatly by pruning occasionally. Furthermore, as a homeowner, I know it is also within my civil duty (and probably the law, too) to keep the plants from impeding pedestrians.

So in using some good sense and judgment along with a little neighborly democracy, before I began hacking away, I included Danny in the decision making, so as to be sure he didn’t feel the need to take me to court or worse yet, assault me or, heaven forbid, fire a weapon my way. Just a little neighborly courtesy, ya know.

In the headlines I see all too often the liberal belief that “government” really NEEDS to be involved in everything we do today. Can we not just work things out amongst ourselves anymore instead of being puppeteered by politicians or by suing and shooting each other? We don’t need big government people! We need to evolve as a human species and learn to get along for all the right reasons, not because we fear lawsuits and government intervention. I try in all aspects of my life nowadays to avoid altercation and confrontation. I also teach this to my children, and also that things should be handled at the absolute lowest level first. The next time you decide to do something that might burden or offend someone, or the next time you might feel burdened or offended, you might try to just work it out first!