The 20-Year Comprehensive Plan is one venue, but not the only one, where citizens can simultaneously learn more about local affairs, voice their opinions and make well-reasoned suggestions that relate directly to their future. City council meetings, county commission and school board meetings and any public meeting where items relating to you and your family's future are being discussed are excellent examples. And most every elected board in this part of the world has a methodology for citizens to address their views and their concerns.

It has long been common place in America for people to believe that their voice means nothing, that they can have no legitimate input into the decisions made by the people they voted into office. This view is simply wrong, and dangerous. It is the offspring of apathy and ignorance, it perpetuates the myth that, as citizens, we cannot have a positive affect on the circumstances of our lives and that of our children as relates to the decisions made by our various governments. But nothing could be further from the truth. I have seen on numerous occasions where the people and the press have made an absolute difference, especially in issues involving local government. Nobody gets everything they want, but the failure to make the attempt ensures that you get nothing.

Another popular myth that abounds in the American culture says that one or two people, or even a small group, don't stand a chance at affecting change in their community. Once again, this misguided belief is the offspring of apathy and ignorance. This is not meant to mean that we can or should get everything we want when we want it. It just means that even one or two people can help facilitate a good idea when driven by conviction and tenacity. Besides, as most people know, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. It's just that it is better to be "squeaky" for a worthwhile reason that benefits the community, not a self-serving or nebulous one that benefits nothing. Pesky citizens engaging some disinterested board members notwithstanding, a rebel with a cause will always get much farther than a rebel without one.

It's been said a million times that life today is complicated, with commitments everywhere and not enough time to get them done. True. Yet we all know that we can usually find a way to do the things most important to us. The world of South Fulton is changing right before your eyes. More than ever, your attention to and, perhaps, your enhanced understanding of the events in your changing world may be warranted. It's your future, South Fulton.