Paul Scott comment: "How high's the water, neighbor?"

(The following is a comment by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott):

One of the things I love about Decorah is the sense of community it has.  We do a lot of good things on behalf of our community--serve on boards, raise money, participate in activities, etc.

I'd hate to see that sense of community begin to disappear.  That's why I'm worried that, to some extent, it already has--at least in the case of where to allow Menard's to put up a store in Decorah.

I understand that good people can have different viewpoints on this issue.  And I also agree with Scott Carlson's recent Letter to the Editor that we need to allow the experts to weight in on this issue.

But I've heard two disturbing responses to the comments I've done that suggested it would be better to have Menard's put up a building on the top of the hill near the Decorah Airport, instead of in the Freeport floodplain.

The first reaction has been, "I imagine this will result in several local businesses having to close their doors, but I really want to shop at Menard's."  The attitude is that--as long as I get what I want--there's no loss to the community.

But the second reaction is even more common--and more disturbing: "Well, my house is located on a hill, fortunately!"  Is this what we're becoming as a community?  That so long as it's not our own home or business that gets flooded, we're OK with Menard's building in a floodplain?

We're seeing Americans isolate themselves inside their homes and in groups of similar people--the so-called "silo effect," named for the way we're living in "silos," instead of communities.  I thought that was the case mainly in big cities, but if this is becoming the case in a small, cohesive town like Decorah, we have reason to worry about where our society is headed.

Can't we all agree that when one of our neighbors suffers, we all suffer?

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