Council President Van Zeeland: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Alfheim.
Alderperson Kristin Alfheim (District 11): Balance.
Man Off Screen: Thirteen
Alderperson Alfheim: She got me. Balance. What makes finding balance so difficult? Perhaps it’s that we have so many more things to consider than in the past: education, the economy, individual rights, small businesses, the climate, the arts, multi-cultures, religions, taxes versus service, suburbans versus downtown. The list of issues and priorities is endless and challenging. How are we to find balance in all this?
The first necessity is empathy, the willingness to see and feel from the opposite side of an issue. Without a willingness to understand the opposing view and how it affects them, no progress can be made.
Second is the willingness to learn from new information. Whether it be feelings or facts, new information should be accepted and either added to or replace your initial thoughts.
Third, it’s necessary to be unselfish, to realize the greater good often requires common decency and a small sacrifice.
Balance is not about perfection. It is not about right or wrong. It’s about acknowledging there are many people and factors involved, causing both positive and negative consequences. Finding balance takes work. I challenge this council and our community to always put in the work to find balance as we move forward together.
I find this invocation amusing. I know someone who lives in her district and was having an issue with construction going on the water system which is managed by Fox Crossing. Her contact page on the city Web site provides no direct contact information for her:
https://www.appleton.org/government/common-council/council-members/district-11-kristin-alfheim-alderperson
It has a contact form, to which this person filled out but over a week went by and no response. This person, frustrated, searched for her and found her State Senate campaign Web site, then sent an email to the contact there, to which they finally got a response.
Balance – clearly her Council duties were not in balance with advancing her political career.