For more than 200 years, there was a philosophy in America that projects for the common good were very important. The idea of the good of a few was not much of a consideration.
The notion that what is good for the masses trumps what is good for the few built our nation into an economic power. We have railroads, interstates, pipelines, utility poles, quarries, various heavy industries, river lock-and-dam systems, etc. ... because it was all for the common good.
They gave the masses with more opportunities to prosper. This is what made America a very wealthy nation.
All of that has changed.
Today, it seems, projects are constantly in litigation or under protest. People now see what's good for a few as the new philosophy. The hell with the masses. So citizens protest new interstates, new rail lines, pipelines, asphalt plants, etc. ... no one wants something near their house. The notion that big projects will do positive things for an entire region takes a back seat.
The creation of job opportunities and new infrastructure to sell a region to new companies doesn't seem to matter any more. So, many individuals who already lived the American dream now seem intent on stopping the dreams of individuals who haven t gotten there yet.
Yes, if our nation had pushed the idea of what’s good for a few is much more important than what is good for many the past 200 years, we would be a third-world country.
I believe the current environment of " not in my back yard" is not only selfish, it's short-sighted! Workers of the future are the ones who will suffer.
I'm Phillip LeFevre, and that's my perspective.
