Why Kent Needs a Patch

When the editor asked me to consider writing a blog for the Patch, I started to think about whether I wanted to become associated with an organization that by it's nature is only accessible through the cloud that is the Internet. As one who has now fully embraced cloud technology after having at first resisted it, I have come to appreciate the interesting opportunity the Patch and other social media have for Kent to become an even better place to live, work and socialize, in every sense of that word. 

While I have not explored how the name Patch evolved, I very much like the many meanings of the word and their implications for our people in this place. A patch is a temporary, quick fix that we do to a piece of clothing or a computer program. While this kind of patch is often meant to last a short while, often times our patches take on a life of their own and define the very thing we are patching.  

A patchwork quilt is a functional way of keeping warm that gains it's beauty from the diversity of it's seemingly random elements, all brought together through the vision of it's maker.   Each piece of the quilt has signifance to the Creator, often times impossible to understand by others.  Where one might see an old piece of blue jeans, the quilter sees their favorite pants worn in highshool.  And so with our community, one might have a preference for a catered country club reception and another a drum circle around a campfire.  

And as a gardener, I especially appreciate the potential of a patch of ground to become a magnificent and productive place ... but only with hard work. Each bed with its salad greens, tomatoes or brambles, takes on its own character, and so Kent Patch will be different than the one in Stow and Hudson or some town far away. What is most fascinating about living in Kent is the vast divergence of perspectives about the good life, because of and in spite of the people drawn here by the university as well as those who have little or nothing to do with it.

I have written columns and done radio commentary since the early 1970s. Over those years I  have come to appreciate that it is the patchwork of perspectives that make life interesting. I have also learned that some people will very much disagree with my perspective and others will consider me a kindred spirit. Most will simply ignore me. What I very much appreciate about the new social media and "citizen jornalism" is the ease by which we can share our perspectives and challenge each other, in a civil manner, so as to broaden our thinking. Rather than waiting a week for someone to respond with a rebuttal or an "at-a-boy,"' you can share a "like," or a "what planet is Hawksley from anyway?" in minutes — from the privacy of your back deck.    

My only hope is that those who wish to respond will at least be willing to tell others who we are so that our discussion can be principled as well as public.  The cloud is a poor replacement for a town hall meeting, but there is potential for at least a little bit of the civilizing influence of people we live near exchanging ideas about what matters to us.  Perhaps we can have meaningful meetings as a result of our on-line debates?

While talking to the editor about the potential of this blog, we discussed the fact that the future of journalism will be digital. My own son, a budding photo-journalist, all but scoffs at the pile of newspapers we always have at our house, yet he is as well informed as I am, and in some subjects, even more so. While I cannot predict the demise of the printing press, at least for now the Kent Patch offers us an opportunity to do the things that patches do ... help mend the fabric of our town, create a beautiful crazy quilt, and clear a place for planting a new patch of the kind of things that will help our community grow in the right direction.