0404 Cool Wins Holland Loses
Cool wins –Holland loses. But what would one expect when chasing the dollar and being a “cool city” are higher priorities for our city council than preserving Holland’s integrity as a family-friendly oasis in a grab-for-the-gusto world. The council’s motivations for lifting the ban against the use of alcohol on city property is a perfect study of pragmatism gaining victory over traditional values.
In essence, presentations during the February 18th meeting can be distilled into either “alcohol is evil” or “it’s the economy, stupid”. The reality is that something much more profound than either issue was also going on. February 18th was, forHolland, an official cultural shift. It was not a huge shift mind you, but neither were the opening maneuvers a year ago in conjunction with Tulip Time beer tents. Apparently, as a community, we are now convinced that revitalization for downtown must be generated along alcohol-vending sidewalks and alcohol-laced celebrations.
Will it work? Probably. Is it going to be best for Holland? That depends on which Hollandwe want our children to inherit. If the February 18th trend continues, our community will saunter down a pleasantly heated street noted for all its surface attractions. Young adults and youth will be able to watch us model the same version of happiness and relaxation as the rest of the downward-spiraling world – substance-based night life, substance-promoting festivals and substance-using “family times”. Just as regrettably, men and women in the community who have matured through fifty, sixty, seventy or eighty years of spiritual and moral wisdom, can be ignored and shown to their civic lounge chairs. The social investments they made, the ones that brought us to where we now are, can be entrusted to a youth culture to do all over again.
The whole situation is dripping with irony. TheHollandarea is in the middle of solid steady growth, not because corporations, small businesses and individuals have been attracted to a “happenin’ place”, but because of the area’s faith-based, peaceful, no-nonsense culture and conservative work ethic. Yet, and here is the irony, many of those who are taking advantage of our unique environment are now moving us away from that proud heritage. Amazing! While partaking of the fruit that keeps them here, they yearn to be like every other “cool city” in the state! Instead of innovatively building on the tried and true, our community can now begin keeping up with the municipal Jones as we hone control skills for a new type of crowd and security fences become bigger and better.
There is more. As Jim Looman noticed in his March 16th letter to the editor, our prayer-friendly city council doesn’t seem to put ordinance management for public worship as high on the priority list as helping people “loosen up” to “pay up”. The irony here is that the God they rightfully honor with opening prayer is the only One who will give Holland life or require it of her. As difficult as it is to fathom in our materialistic world, it is the seeking “…first His (God’s) kingdom and His righteousness…” (Mt 6:33) that will determine Holland’s fate, not chasing greenbacks and glitter. Given this truth, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out whether open-air worship in the park or wine on the island should get the political nod.
There is still a chance to persevere toward an alternative Holland. Because of the recent events cited above, it will be the tougher, more heroic avenue. Liberal thinkers will not understand this, but progressiveness is not always a good thing. The bestHollandis one with the courage to sometimes be left behind by flame-seeking moths and forward moving rust buckets (Mt 6:20). A Holland such as that is not going to survive unless her citizenry attends to her diligently and acts to halt more compromise with forces not worth giving the time of …night.