I have come to the defense of my town quite a lot and even had to do so to my fellow Greenfielders, and I feel like I’m in a spot such as that again.

I’m tired, bone deep, of hearing everything that is wrong with Greenfield, especially when it’s the same problems that persist across the Highland County and the country.

I challenge all of you who have nothing but negativity to spout to think of one good thing, just one, and say it out loud to another human being. Just one good thing about Greenfield shouldn’t be too taxing. Really, you can do it.

If you think our town is such a cesspool, such a den of drugs and debauchery, then there are a whole lot of other places you can move to. And I’ll wager the same problems will be right there waiting for you to air your grievances against, too.

I see the good. Others do, too, or they wouldn’t hang around and wouldn’t try to make a difference for the better every single day. Why, oh why, can’t you people wearing the doom-and-gloom glasses slip them off for just a second?

Yeah, there is some crap going on at the fire department, but it will get sorted out one way or the other, and in the meantime there are a lot of dedicated district employees ready to answer the call should you need them.

If you are concerned with how things are being handled or if you have some questions, go to a fire board meeting. They are open to the public and held the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Washington Street station.

There’s some crap going on at the police station, too. And you know what, it will also get sorted out, one way or another. And in the interim, there are trained and committed officers prepared to answer your call of distress, no matter what the heck else is going on in the department internally.

Again, if you’ve got some concerns, attend a council meeting. It meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. on the first floor of the city building. It is open to the public. If you want to speak, call 937-981-3500 ahead of time and get your name put on the agenda.

We have some empty storefronts. Show me a town or city that doesn’t. There are also some very nice storefronts, not empty, but the face of thriving businesses. Think about that.

And here is a shocker so hold onto your seats – there are drug addicts in our midst. Sure, Greenfield has a drug problem. There is not one single place that is not touched by that evil. Have you ever stopped to think that perhaps it’s symptomatic of something else, something deeper within society?

Instead of complaining about it, why not put our collective heads together and find ways to change things, to give these people who are lost (so very lost) in addiction something much better to live for? How we do that I don’t know, but it most definitely begins with all of us and is certainly worth a shot.

Our courts do all they are able, for sure, and that’s more than what I believe, perhaps, the judicial system was made for, but here it is bearing the mighty weight of addiction.

I’ve heard a lot of naysayers on this, too, ones with very disappointing, scathing, even alarming comments on how the judicial system handles what it is tasked with handling.

My request to you is that before you make such a comment, check your facts and check yourself. You know that whole thing about how people living in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing stones, right? Not a single one of us is without our weaknesses, so please don’t slap a person for their’s while you stand on a pedestal.

And that is one big problem not just faced in Greenfield, but all over, that condemnation. That lack of a community mind, heck, a Christian mind, to reach out a hand to those in need, even if that need is to be pulled back from the devouring flames of drug addiction.

The thing is, every single one of us is affected by the rampant addiction. Did you get that? Every one of us, even if not a single soul in our immediate circle is an addict.

It’s everywhere. No place has been immune to what is going on, to this thing that feeds on itself and perpetuates into the future. The only way that can possibly stop is with us, with community.

There are just so many haters. It is unbelievable to me how many haters, and they are all bent on that one thing, hating, not seeing the good that is and that can be.

I’m not foolish enough to believe that you can save everyone. Frankly, some folks don’t want saving. But this is a fight for everyone, not just the law and those who are within the nasty grasp of something much bigger than themselves.

I’m not trying to ride a high horse here. I just want people to stop with the negativity and start with doing something that builds on the good of our community instead of undermining its foundations.

Get over yourselves. Stop pointing fingers at everything that you see wrong, take a look in the mirror, and see that you are a part of making a change. Then do it. You do it. Don’t wait on someone else to. You do it.

Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.