LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

A community member recently sent me Rudyard Kipling’s classic poem “If—”, noting how closely its message parallels what many Grant residents have encountered when trying to obtain straightforward information from their own city government. It’s remarkable how a poem written in 1895 can describe a situation in 2025 so precisely.

The opening lines hit especially hard:

“If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…”

Anyone who has attempted to ask a simple, reasonable question in recent months knows exactly how that feels. When citizens are treated as the source of the problem for merely seeking clarity, something is deeply out of alignment. When public information becomes slow, incomplete, or selectively accessible, it is understandable that people begin to wonder why. And when a request for transparency triggers defensiveness instead of answers, Kipling’s words suddenly feel less poetic and more like commentary on current events.

For those curious, the full poem is easily found online — no multi-step process, no waiting period, and no request forms required.

Kipling also writes about remaining steady when truth becomes inconvenient or uncomfortable for others. That lesson is worth remembering in Grant. A community does not falter because people ask questions; it falters when those questions are met with resistance, delays, or an attitude that citizens should simply stop asking.

Grant is a small town, but it is not a silent one. More residents are paying attention. More are speaking up. And more are realizing that transparency is not a courtesy — it is a requirement. The expectation that people should look the other way or stop requesting information for the sake of convenience is not how accountable government works.

Asking questions is not the problem. Pretending that questions shouldn’t be asked is.

Marlin Wendell 

Grant, Nebraska