I long ago accepted the fact that it's impossible to please everyone at the same time, and no one enjoys universal popularity. Many historic figures we now think of in terms of near-reverence had plenty of enemies in their day. I was considering this during the recent interviews for the Town Manager position; anyone with a lot of experience in public service who has not badly upset some people over the years probably hasn't done much of any real importance. Even using your power for good will make you some enemies. Change is always going to upset someone and people don't like being challenged.

But sometimes you wonder if it's possible to please anyone. And sometimes you suspect that being universally disliked is not at all unusual or difficult to achieve.

If you find yourself thinking this, you're probably a newspaper publisher. That's why journalists have such a reputation for drinking a lot. That, and the deadlines, like the one I'm writing under right now. (I am not drinking. Honest.)

Satirist Peter Dunne first said that one of the roles of journalism is "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Of course, there's a lot more to journalism than that; certainly, its first role is to discover and inform. But news media is comforting when it acknowledges and validates the difficulties of those in the community. By calling attention to situations that require change, and to people who need help, news media can galvanize action to be taken by those in power. Ordinary people find out that their neighbors need a helping hand. The generosity which folks in Winchendon show to those who suffer misfortune is both amazing and humbling.

Too much affliction of the comfortable can backfire; gadflies have a tendency to enable their targets to deflect attention from themselves to the gadfly, thereby neutralizing their effect. But certainly, journalists should always be "the loyal opposition" to those in power, keeping them on track when they get sluggish or careless or are tempted by personal benefits and rewards. Sometimes, people in positions of authority are just honestly mistaken or misinformed. Journalists can help there, too, doing the digging and fact-finding that others don't have the time to do on their own.

I don't believe it's ever necessary to be unkind, and I prefer to assume the best of people even when I don't agree with what they do. Public service in a small town can be a thankless job which most people would never do unless helping others thrive is rewarding enough to balance the crap they have to take. Often it is, for a while...we know how fast volunteers and people in public service burn out. But I do think it's important to tell the truth, and let others tell the truth as they see it.

With so many new people coming into Winchendon's town and school administration now, I'm thinking a lot about how our town must look to outsiders. We're going to have a new Town Manager, a new Superintendent of Schools, new folks on the School Committee and Board of Selectmen (roles that attract a lot of criticism), and we have a new DPW Director, who is much more visible in a small town like Winchendon than his equivalent in a big city. All of these people will change our town--the big question is, what about our town do they look at and want to change?

Do they want to change the same things that we do? And if not, what is the best way to work with them and feel that our interests are being represented?

You can always write a letter to the editor for the Courier! But here's what not to do: complain on Facebook. That's not going to get you anywhere. The people on town boards and committees are your neighbors, fer cryin' out loud. Talk to them! Nicely! Because we all live here; we all pay taxes here. In the recent discussion about raising water and sewer rates, Board of Selectmen Chair Mike Barbaro said he was voting to raise his own rates and he wasn't happy about it either, but it needed to be done.

By being a community that faces truth, doesn't blame and judge, and comes together in times of need, we'll attract people who like those values and will live up to them and work with us. Maybe we should add that to the Master Plan.

Just kidding. The Master Plan is perfect.

Inanna Arthen