As an owl who likes to fly around our little world here along the Elk and Tennessee Rivers, one fact stands out. We have an independent press. Better said, we have a local newspaper that addresses what goes on here; it offers ways to make this a real, happy, prosperous and fair community. In hometown newspapers, you can find the local impact of the grand issues discussed around the world, across America and in Alabama. President Eisenhower once said “Writing farm policy looks easy from 1,000 miles away. It only gets hard once you begin to farm.” Such impacts of big ideas on our real neighbors are important to understand. Why? Because with that you get past the hype, propaganda and less than realistic expectations you might hear from partisan talk radio, political hacks and pundits.

In short, freedom of the press — and the ability to exercise that — should be for everyone, not only those with a lot of money or electronic media backing. Everyone can write a letter to the editor. This owl hopes to demonstrate how a tiny county of one state can impact, and be impacted by, events near and far. Local issues matter. Where better to explore them than right here, where we live? I begin with simple assumptions.

Our audience for the most part is fair minded, reasonable and, above all, practical. They appreciate original comments; that is, observations that aren’t canned partisan boilerplate. Most people I’ve encountered don’t designate themselves by political parties. Almost everyone is open to practical ideas, well explained with examples. We are not generally ideologues, slogan slingers or cultists. By observing, then asking for clarity, I’ve found true grounds for real community building. That is, we can be a community known not by how we exclude others, but how we live well, welcome others, become good neighbors and prosper together. We strive to be welcoming.

Readers like articles about local issues. Owls, such as myself, try to show how local issues reflect and influence larger events and policies. Several commented they never realized how faraway issues affected their lives here. Most here appreciate that morality can play a role in modern life. Elementary kindness, honesty and justice can be encouraged in so many ways, all for the common good.

I try to express simple beliefs. I fly hither and yon to give examples of how the real lives of others play out. There’s no mystery to anything I write, as my every article is based on simple principles.

Our country is based on the idea that wonderful things can come from ordinary people, if they are given the chance. That’s what our democracy is all about. One great president said the cord that binds us all together comes from our Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” We Americans have found when we live up to this truth, we cannot fail. We bring out the best in others when they feel a part of the shared adventure of life. When we offer this guiding idea to the world, our world is safer, and we can all do wonderful things.

Once we see how we really are all in this together, we begin to lose our fears. We find we can reach out to other average people just like ourselves and do magnificent things. Big shot “strongmen” are beaten once the fears they try to stir up don’t work anymore.

By helping others and being helped, we can make our town, our county and so our country a good, working, happy and welcoming place. That’s what newspapers have always meant for me. They are the channel by which we praise the good, such as our Main Street Athens initiative, or identify and challenge problems. A free press keeps us tied to the cord that binds together the American ideal.

We need never fear to call out wrong when we see it. If we can praise good, where deserved, so much the better. I particularly appreciate efforts at keeping our town safe and aware of the needs of others. A simple box of food posted near the library for those in need is newsworthy, just as much as a new park or road. Every local activity has consequences. We should always be able to observe, freely in the public newspaper, what those consequences might be. If some suffer as a result of something said or done, we should not fear calling it to the public’s attention. Complex issues often seem beyond our ability to impact them. But is that really true? We’ve been given eyes for observation and minds to orient that awareness in a broader context. Then we can make informed decisions, and act. Morality should always be a factor in any community decisions. We should keep in mind how the least among us are affected by our common actions. We need give preferential concern for the lonely, the lost, the poor, elderly and wounded among us. We need to establish and use institutions that help us all out, to live happier, healthier, better informed, and wiser lives. We need find truth not by hiding the past, but by making it honest, and complete. Honesty is the best planning policy in any language.

Common sense, public awareness, smarter citizens and happier people is what a local paper can bring. We owls have observed that.