“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.

Doing nothing certainly has its appeal. We cannot be blamed when things go wrong, or don’t turn out as planned. Doing nothing exempts us from having to exert time, effort, and energy. Doing nothing absolves us from making difficult decisions.

Perhaps that’s why voter turnout was so low during our recent history-making gubernatorial election (29 percent in Tyler County). Apparently, just under three quarters of Tyler County’s registered voters preferred to do nothing, rather than cast a ballot.

Perhaps that’s why employers in Tyler County hire workers from out of state. Apparently, some residents prefer to do nothing, rather than work.

Perhaps that’s why our government gets away with all the bickering, infighting, and political shenanigans in Washington, D.C. Apparently, some of us would rather do nothing, than make the effort to effect change that matters, here in Tyler County, in our state, and in the national arena.

Choices – or the inability to make them – are the “hinges of destiny.” The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. Are we participants? Or are we spectators? Are we good people, waiting for someone else to take a stand – while doing nothing?