Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) was an ordained Methodist minister and leading proponent of the Power of Positive thinking. He fervently believed people who hopefully or optimistically anticipated results for particular events were far more likely to obtain good or constructive outcomes than individuals less proactive in their attitude, or who habitually expected the worst. Dr. Peale reputedly said “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.”
Unfortunately he also opined, “Faced with the election of a Catholic, our culture is at stake,” when serving as a spokesperson for 150 Protestant clergymen opposing John F. Kennedy’s presidential candidacy in 1960.
It’s a mark of American society’s positive (if glacial) social evolution that Dr. Peale’s unfortunate remarks regarding practitioners of religions other than his own have been all but forgotten, but his thoughts concerning maintaining a positive attitude have endured. Keeping that in mind, nearly everyone in Maine should be rejoicing over at least one outcome from the state’s recently-completed elections. It’s doubtful many voters backed losers in their local legislative races, chose a gubernatorial candidate other than Paul LePage, preferred Dean Scontras (or Jason Levesque in District 2) for Congress, and cast “no” votes on the Oxford County casino question and the two statewide bond issues.
I’m happy our current representative in Congress was re-elected, and that an independent candidate for state senate from my district outpolled the incumbent and two others. And thanks to questions two and three being approved, state residents in rural areas will eventually have greater access to dental care, and land conservation programs and waterfront preservation efforts will continue unabated. It’s nice living where the majority of residents care about the long-term health of both their environment and their fellow citizens.
It’s disappointing that neither my choice for governor nor the candidate I backed (and did volunteer work for) for the state House of Representatives won. And like nearly all my friends and co-workers, I’m disheartened over the approval of the Citizen Initiative allowing the building of a casino in Oxford County.
But Dr. Peale’s philosophy regarding envisioning good and beneficial outcomes should help all Mainers see that there is much to celebrate. It’s in everyone’s best interest that Governor-elect LePage succeed in bettering our quality of life, bolstering Maine’s economy, and improving the state’s long-term fiscal health through job creation, strengthening small business, and making our state’s educational system more efficient and productive. And since his political party is in control of both houses of the state legislature he should be able to more expediently enact whatever improvements he deems appropriate.
But Mr. LePage had better fully remedy all that ails Maine ASAP. His party’s national leadership has clearly indicated that elected officials who fail to fix all real and imagined problems of those they represent within a two-year period can expect to be voted out in the next election.
The proof? The United States Senate minority leader recently proclaimed that his number one goal for the next two years is insuring the current president doesn’t win a second term. Never mind that the commander-in-chief inherited a fiscal mess from his transparently incompetent predecessor, whose profligate spending on unnecessary and poorly planned wars exponentially increased the deficit, or that the previous president’s antipathy toward regulation sent a myriad of American jobs overseas. Perhaps job creation, repairing America’s infrastructure, improving education, moving toward energy independence, and ending costly wars are all somewhere on Mitch McConnell’s to-do list, but apparently none of those items has a higher priority than ousting the chief executive who failed to fully rectify longstanding (and inherited) difficulties in a mere 22 months.
If those who’ll be running the state for the next two years somehow meet Senator McConnell’s standards, by November 2012 Maine will have a balanced budget, more jobs, and an improved educational system, not to mention lower taxes and reduced health care costs. But if things aren’t perfect by that time, Maine voters should take Senator McConnell at his word and oust every GOP state legislator who, despite nominally having had power for two years, has failed to help bring prosperity and happiness to each and every state resident.
But Governor-elect LePage may get more help with revenue creation than he had anticipated. Actions speak louder than words, so he can dismiss all the rhetoric about Mainers being opposed to new taxes.
The approval of the Citizen Initiative on the Oxford County casino indicates that more than 50 percent of Maine’s voters favor a voluntary Stupidity Assessment. And since those eager to build and operate the coming gambling emporium anticipate that legions of Mainers are eager to pay this tariff again and again, it’s clear the reputation our state’s citizens have for being opposed to all new levies is at least partially undeserved.
—”ƒAndy Young teaches in Kennebunk, and lives in Cumberland.
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