LETTERS: SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES TO CHANGE FOR GOOD

To the editor:

When you have the chance to change things, do you?

My company has a form called "Correction of Errors." It is a chance to say what needs to change. This opportunity is taken lightly by some, and the end result is very few changes in their areas.

Each New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, we might do the same in our mind. We think about it, but we aren't going to commit much time or effort to the change we proposed. Why not?

The answers I get when I ask people who complain of conditions which they wish would change gives me one common thread. It is the confidence which we have lost in our own ability to change things.

Frankly, most of us have suffered a little apathy (unless you are that super-fortunate human who gets everything he wants). It is usually after suggesting changes which were squelched by insults, patrimonial quips or ignorance. But what is reassuring to me is that there are so many inspirations both living and dead who tell me during my dedicated moments to get louder or more persistent in my suggestions to make changes, not give up or roll over or be complacent about it.

As we end this millennium and I watch the news coverage given to the people whom the media are tagging as "greats" and "movers and shakers" of the century, I have to smile widely. Where would we be if these people stayed quiet or inactive in the pursuit of change?

I don't know about you, but I shudder to think what my life would be like without my computer on which I compose this letter and many other words of wisdom in a lot less time than 20 years ago. Think typewriters and correction tape to get the real picture.

I also want to mention how many of our great inventors went through a "Correction of Errors" before they got it right. They ignored lots of insults from people telling them they were crazy for even trying. Think telephone, electricity and even spaceships.

And then picture centuries of men and women being closed-minded to the idea that a woman could do more than produce babies and tend the house. Well, it is a little-known fact, but during the years when our patronizing government wouldn't allow women to obtain patents, women under the names of their husbands or male friends got patents for revolutionary inventions like the cotton gin or wringer washing machine.

Now think about where we might be as a nation with a little forethought by our forefathers as they wrote the Constitution and someone said, "Hey, we need to correct our ideas about freedom to include slaves and women." Yes, a lot of changes were squelched during that time by ignorance, and they still are today.

The thought should be hitting you right now about how you shouldn't give up if you are convinced your idea is a good one. Find the confidence to persevere or find allies who can help bolster your effort with their confidence. Good ideas are infectious at times and find their own momentum in group action. However, a word of caution is required about great ideas. Never be selfish with an idea about change for the common good. It is the wrong attitude.

As we begin the next 100 years and push the button on more changes, my hope is that one of the biggest changes in our lives is the attitude we have toward change. We can correct errors. Better yet, we can avoid them by doing it right the first time. Let's call it our Millennium Moments when we gather together to make plans for the future of ourselves, our companies, our families and our planet and really do make changes that avoid errors.

God bless the minds which think, "We can change for the better."

VALERIE WONDRICK

Cape Girardeau