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Letter: Amid the disruption and chaos, what to do to make things better?

(Bethany Baker  |  The Salt Lake Tribune) Flowers at Utah Flower Market in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Flowers at Utah Flower Market in Pleasant Grove on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

“Weeds and flowers equally take root in the fertile soil of a child’s mind unless adults are actively involved.” (author unknown)

How am I actively involved in preserving the well-being of our country? How do my actions align with providing a safe, inclusive, affirming environment for all of us?

“Tend to the part of the garden that I can reach.”

That has been my mantra since Ukraine was invaded in 2022. What am I doing today to stop the dismantling of safeguards and to shield ongoing opportunities for our country’s humane advancement? What am I doing today to advocate for wisdom and insight in making decisions? To ensure that decisions are based on the public good rather than recklessness and greed?

2025 is a year of disruption and chaos. A time of accelerated and drastic change with profound consequences. Goethe said over two hundred years ago, “There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance.”

Synonyms for fear are: anxiety, uneasiness, terror, panic, despair. Opposites of fear are: calmness, curiosity, trust, happiness, encouragement. What am I doing that decreases fear and destruction and is generating worthwhile action?

Cory Booker says, “Power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Am I using my power?

Hillel’s words, from before Christ was born, are as profound today: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

Ask questions. Keep accurately informed. Speak up. Stand up. Donate time/money. Feed opportunities. Starve problems.

Kathy Gambles, Ogden

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