I was born in the ‘50’s, but the first U.S. President of whom I was aware was JFK. I remember the awe and respect my parents had for him, and our government officials in general. Several trips to Washington D.C. during my elementary school days reinforced this ideal. We all know that those times are long gone.

Are the men and women that currently hold office in our country less worthy of respect? Are they worse people than the elected officials of a generation ago? Probably not, but we know much more about their governing activities and private lives than that of their predecessors, thanks to technology, the 24-hour news cycle, and social media. Familiarity certainly can breed contempt.

When employers are making hiring decisions, standard procedure is to check social media and search engines to see what is out there in the public domain. One can learn much about a person when reading what they post. Just so with news reports, and citizen posts about a community.

Unfortunately, the negative seems to dramatically out-influence the positive. It does not take too many vitriolic posts, or caustic comments by a citizen at a commission meeting to leave outsiders with a poor impression of a community. The Internet is as powerful of force for destruction as it is for good; perhaps more so. It can mean the difference between a family deciding to move to Bourbon County, or not.

Word of mouth is still impactful. Upon moving here six years ago, I walked into two businesses, I identified myself as a new resident, and the comments, were something like, “You moved here on purpose?!?” and “Why did you move here?!?” I quickly learned that our communities have a self-esteem problem.

I was born in a town of 1,300 people, I have lived in five states, several small and medium-sized towns, and one large city. Let me say this: Bourbon County is my BEST community experience. My wife and I have no desire to be anywhere else. The grass is NOT greener elsewhere. If you don’t believe me, you don’t know what you have in Bourbon County.

Bottom line: think twice before you go negative, either in private conversations, or on social media. Don’t post anything based on assumptions. Make sure your opinions are factual, and expressed in respectful ways. Don’t sacrifice the good on the altar of the perfect. Don’t take out your frustrations in a public setting. Buy a punching bag instead.

I leave you with a quote from our first President, George Washington, which is one of his 12 Rules of Civility: “Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.” If you have something against your neighbor, go talk to them, rather than posting about it. On second thought, if you have something negative to say or post, ask yourself, “What do I hope to accomplish?” The economic future of our community depends upon the public impression we make every day.