Learning to Take a Win

Those we celebrate this Labor Day need all of us to recognize a win when it presents itself and accept it.

By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Sen. Mark Warner (D - Va.). Photo by Martin Davis.

Senator Mark Warner was clear in his messaging at the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank last week — the next two years are going to be difficult.

That’s bad news for everyone. This Labor Day, however, it’s especially bad for those who find themselves falling out of the quickly shrinking middle class.

There are a range of factors that account for this decline, but recent decisions by the Trump Administration are going to put more downward pressure on those who depend on weekly paychecks to survive. (How many families this actually encompasses is difficult to say, as surveys pin that number at between 30% and 60%.)

Tariffs, as Warner noted, are just beginning to be felt. With the average tariff now at 18.6% — up from 2.2% just a year ago — consumers are going to begin seeing significant hikes in prices by the holidays.

Federal job cuts will hit our region harder than many others, given the high numbers of people who depend on the federal government for employment.

Add in cuts to Medicaid that are going to strip 400,000 Virginians of health insurance, as well as the projected $350 million being cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Virginia, and it’s easy to understand the Senator’s concern.

There is much to be worried about. However, too often our worry is misplaced.

We spiral down a drain of gloom-and-doom about things we can do precious little about (federal actions) and bemoan the troubles, while distracting ourselves from the good people are doing within our communities and celebrate that.

It’s a natural piece of the human condition. Learning to not succumb is a virtue that must be learned. Rudyard Kipling offered a guide for dealing with those who value destruction over construction in his “If—”. The first and last stanzas are worth citing.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

…

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Especially in times of despair, it’s important to learn to maintain balance. One easy way to do this is to learn to accept a win.

Taking the Win

This past weekend in Spotsylvania, the county was handed a win by Jaimie Ashton. Driven by a concern to give the community a place to heal when dealing with the loss of a child, she rallied volunteers to donate time and materials to build a memorial garden in front of the Spotsylvania County Public Schools’ building.

As with any project, there were voices that complained — on social media, and most notably at the School Board meeting. Salem District representative Lorita Daniels expressed concerns — after the memorial was erected — about waiving the second reading for the policy that led to the memorial’s construction.

In a county that over the past five years has regularly seen the School Board devolve into yelling and vitriol, Daniels’ concern could have led to a heated debate.

The opposite happened. Courtland District representative Nicole Cole and Lee Hill representative Lisa Phelps — two members who have frequently locked horns — both noted the extensive discussion that had gone into the policy, and Phelps noted it unlikely that a “memorial would cause any discontent…. It is known in this community we needed something to unify us.”

It was a rare moment of comity. And for once, the Board simply took the win and moved on.

Rough Days Conquered, Together

Sen. Warner is most likely correct that our community is in for rough days. And citizens have a responsibility to address those decisions at the federal level that are damaging.

Rough days, however, are best navigated not by turning on one another, but by finding those wins in the community that unite us and celebrating them.

The troubles to come can be managed by following the lead in Spotsylvania and recognizing a win when it arises and take it.

And in our communities, there are many who daily weather the headwinds to “fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run” and deliver wins.

It’s evident in those who are turning lives around at the Thurman Brisbane Center, answering the phones at Louisann’s Hope House and addressing the needs of families newly struggling in this challenging economy, opening economic opportunity by attracting data centers and Kalahari Resort, arranging for the multiplication of SNAP benefits at local Farmers’ Markets and at the Fredericksburg Food Co-op, and those who are working to bring a medical school to central Virginia.

Within any one of these efforts, there are challenges and concerns that demand our discussion and analysis. But not at the expense of a win for the community.

Those we celebrate today, more than at any time in a generation, need our communities to win.

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