Bad apples spoil the park
The Golden Rule of "do unto others" is one that all should practice. We learned it in Sunday school, elementary school, and at home. It is a simple rule to follow — treat others as you wish to be treated, respect their property as you would your own, be nice.
Somewhere along the rocky road of life, that rule got tossed by the wayside. We got too wrapped up in new technology and "time-saving" devices. We got hooked on the pop psychology of child-rearing and began to let others be responsible for teaching our children the fundamental rules of life.
It doesn't matter the reason, the fact is we got lazy.
A letter to the editor from Eloise Mueller in last week's paper shows a good example of not "doing unto others."
Brooker Springs and other fixtures in Central Park are being vandalized and demolished. That shows a lack of respect — not only for the park, but for the people who have donated things in the park in memory of loved ones.
Does anyone care? What can be done to stop the vandalism? Is closing the park to bicycles and skateboards the answer? Taking that a step further — what about closing the park altogether? Of course, this is a ridiculous solution.
Only a few bad apples are responsible for the destruction. The question is how do we weed out those bad apples?
Maybe it goes back to the "we don't care" attitude or that old thought: "kids will be kids."
A simple solution would be to increase patrols of the park. Punish the ones who are caught doing something wrong. Set an example. Let those bad apples know they won't get away with destroying property.
It's good to see the park full of people. The facility is there for the community. We certainly don't want to lose that privilege. However, if those bad apples aren't stopped, we all lose.
— DONNA BERNHARDT
