Saying no – a change in meaning | Column

Published 3:55 pm Friday, February 5, 2016

Before deciding to include a Diversity section in its paper, the Federal Way Mirror sent out a survey on whether or not the citizens of our great city thought that this type of journalism was needed. If you read the report you would have seen that 38 percent – 22 people of the 59 people that participated in the 10-question survey – stated that our community would not benefit from such a section. Someone even commented that this might show that the Mirror is “coddling special interest groups,” and several of the survey participants think that the Mirror covers too many diversity issues already.

The Federal Way School District always includes an inspirational theme in their ads stating, “a commitment to educating every child – All Means All,” and around the banner of our city’s 25th anniversary logo reads, “Celebrating our past, building our future.”

Keeping those two reflective ideas in mind, what better way to create awareness of life in our community than by including these inspirations in our everyday lives through the written medium? This is a chance for all to convey ideas and information. Every one of us can benefit by listening to those that are seldom heard. If projected in a careful and positive manner, this thought-provoking section can sustain the test and scrutiny of some that believe otherwise.

Author and leadership expert Dave Logan travels the United States and lectures on how each of us can change the world by rewriting what he calls our “default future,” which he explains are the futures we already have and at times, pre-written. Mr. Logan says each of our default futures contain our hopes, our dreams and our aspirations. He also includes an answer to one important question – what’s likely to happen if nothing unexpected comes along? How can we rewrite our future for us, our children and the next generations to come?

Imagine yourself vacationing on a tropical island, laying in the sun on one of its beaches, enjoying a warm breeze as it gently blows onto your skin and through your hair. What if nothing unexpected came along? Like any human being you probably would order another drink, fall asleep, or even start daydreaming about what you want to do the next day. These are actions we would take because they are default. They don’t require any thinking and, as Logan states, “They are hardwired into that moment.”

Our default future determines our actions unless we decide that we want to do something to rewrite it. It requires no thought and is basically automatic. The question is, do we want to continue with a scripted default future or can we reasonably opt for something different? If we choose to stay the course then it will win. It will win because of stagnant thoughts and beliefs, and it will keep us sheltered from understanding our community, one that is rich with the tradition and culture that has made Federal Way a city to live and be proud to live in.

How do we change our course? We change it by taking a stand and saying no to doing nothing, no to complacency, and no to keeping the status quo. In his lectures, Logan states that when we collectively say no to the default future we put ourselves in the category of being leaders. Both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks rewrote the future of the United States in regards to racial relations when they stood up and said no, redefining methods and actions in a time when the default future of our country was that of inequality.

In determining to include a Diversity section, the Mirror has said no, choosing to rewrite our city’s future. This section will serve as a method in which our focus on building a future is assured and that committing to educate our children is carried toward that same future. Will including a section on diversity shape how we all feel about each other? Will it teach us to be more tolerant toward our neighbors? We can all sit back and do nothing about the future because, ready or not, here it comes – or we can rewrite and reinvent our future and we can paint a masterpiece to test the hands of time, leveraging and embracing what we have before us today.

Now is the time to say no. Together we can change the future to articulate our needs and not accept what is coming toward us. Others may disagree, but it is my belief that we need this section to not only stay a part of the Mirror, but most of all a part of our community.

Gregory Baruso has lived in Federal Way for 15 years and has been a member of the city of Federal Way’s Diversity Commission for eight years and is currently serving as chair. He belongs to many state and local civic organizations, always looking for ways to help out his community.