Opinion Maker Piece November 4, 2026

If you had walked past a college dorm sometime in the spring of 1973, there was a good chance you might have heard the song Dialogue Part I and II from Chicago V blasting out dorm windows: “Are you optimistic 'bout the way things are going? No, I never ever think of it at all. Don't you ever worry when you see what's going down?... Will you try to change things, use the power that you have…?” Maybe Dialogue Part II’s message that “We can change the world now” and “We can make it happen” were overly optimistic. It depends if you are the type of person who considers the glass to be half full or half empty. Decades ago, Michigan was one of the wealthiest states in the nation. According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, Michigan in 1969 had a median household income that was 18 percent higher than the national median. Michigan also ranked the sixth highest median household income of the fifty states. Not so much anymore. According to Census Bureau data, by 2024 Michigan had fallen to 37th in the nation with a median household income of $72,389. Thirty-six other states had higher median household incomes than Michigan. Michigan’s median household income in 2024 was $72,389, half of households made more and half made less. How do counties in Southwest Michigan compare? All three counties, Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren, had household median incomes less than Michigan’s median. Cass County was 24th out of Michigan’s 83 counties with a median household income of $70,443. Van Buren was 27th at $68,114 and Berrien 35th at $65,425. Yes, Michigan has fallen in economic status. This did not happen overnight and did not even happen in the last decade. It happened over fifty or more years. As a youngster, I grew up in southern Saginaw County. In the 1950s and 1960s, our parents commuted to factories which produced automobiles. In Flint, it was Buick. In Saginaw, it was General Motors Steering Gear. In Lansing, it was Oldsmobile. Michigan jobs at the time were often relatively high paying union jobs. I did not move to Berrien County until 1993. But I am guessing that in the 50s and 60s there were factories here as well, factories that no longer produce. There are still some just not as many. I am not going to try and rehash why Michigan has become less wealthy. I will leave that up to the professionals with decades of working in or teaching economics. As an Accounting major at Grand Valley, we were required to take three classes in economics. That is not my expertise. I am more comfortable with debits or credits, and tax deductions. No, instead of laying blame or trying to regurgitate reasons for Michigan’s decline, I think I want to re-ask the Chicago Dialogue I question “Will you try to change things, use the (talents and passions) that you have?” What are your talents and passions? Would you be interested in helping at a local food pantry? As I type this opinion piece today, the Herald Palladium is reporting that some local non-profits, including the Caring Connection, have lost a significant amount of federal funding. Maybe your passion would be volunteering or fund raising for victims of domestic abuse. Perhaps you are concerned about homelessness or poverty in Berrien County and would be interested in the work of Emergency Shelter Services or the Soup Kitchen. None of that interests you? Call United Way, they may be able to connect you with a non-profit that will meet your talents and passion to make a difference. If I told you what my passion was, your first thought might be “What a geek!” You might be right. This coming income tax season will be my 21st as a volunteer with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. I guess you must have some interest in numbers and tax laws to want to volunteer with VITA. However, what motivates me the most is the people. Many of our neighbors, more than you think, do not make a lot of money. In the last two decades, I have met a lot of our neighbors, good people. If you are interested in volunteering with VITA, the training is free. Meeting nice people is also free. There are eight sites in the three counties where you may help. Call United Way in St Joseph or email me for more information.

Persuasion

Amittedly my undergraduate English literature studies were cut short. I was something like four courses shy of an English major. I was tired of being a "poor" college student. So, I graduated in December 1980 with my business degree and the equivalent of what I have often called a minor in English. Unsure how much more literature I would have been able to enjoy in those four more classes. But in some respects, I have long regretted that I did not stay for one more semester. Be that as it may, my professors never had us read Jane Austen. With the exception of my Shakespeare prof who was male, my other English classes were lead by women. But we never read the English author Austen. Unsure why? Perhaps they were not the 19th century romantic that Austen was. I have been trying to determine if I want to see the movie Sense and Sensibility currently in theaters. Pride and Prejudice is generally considered Austen's masterpiece. The 2005 film version with Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen was to me a joy. In searching for critic ratings of Austen novels, Persuasion was rated just behind Pride. Just finished streaming the 1995 BBC version with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds. Wonderful. I must admit I spent half the movie hoping these two get together. Well worth the hour and 45 minutes.

Judy Collins

Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground You in mid-air Send in the clowns Isn't it bliss? Don't you approve? One who keeps tearing around One who can't move Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns - Stephen Sondheim as sung by Judy Collins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W3v2RC8PcY&list=RD_W3v2RC8PcY&start_radio=1

Times they are a changin'

Interesting. Occupations that were the sole domain of men in the past are not so much anymore. In the last two days, I have had a woman with an HVAC company perform the annual inspection on my furnace. Today, I had a woman replace the four tires on my pick-up. Unsure if HVAC technician or Tire mechanic are well paying jobs, however, it's kind of nice to see women, who are more mechanically inclined than I am, have an opportunity to share their skills. Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again And don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin And there's no tellin' who That it's namin' For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin' - Bob Dylan https://youtu.be/z8_7OVrrHS4?is=sGB2Nr62-6-wqIKl

Only Love Can Break Your Heart

When you were young and on your own How did it feel to be alone? I was always thinking of games that I was playing Trying to make the best of my time But only love can break your heart Try to be sure right from the start Yes. Only love can break your heart What if your world should fall apart? -Neil Young https://youtu.be/RN5jMXLPBQI?is=w4bmFMYNqQob9AkY

Poetry on the Fly

Haven't written a damn thing lately. So, here it is? Rather, not a damn thing just a batch of words. Hell, there not even on paper simply posted somewhere in the ether. Technological something or nothing. But all I have, when I want you to know I am thinking of you.

Except Carlos Santana's Guitar

I ain't got nobody That I can depend on I ain't got nobody That I can depend on Ain't got nobody That I can depend on Ain't got nobody That I can depend on Ain't got no one (no tengo a nadie) That I know of (no tengo a nadie) That I can depend on (no tengo a nadie) - Santana https://youtu.be/JlWx1LthL3M?is=ZGmtg2E0cE7yhtxg

Tracks of My Tears

Since you left me if you see me with another girl Seeming like I'm having fun Although she may be cute … She's just a substitute Because you're the permanent one So take a good look at my face Oh, you'll see my smile looks out of place If you look a little bit closer, it's easy to trace Oh, the tracks of my tears - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles https://youtu.be/BCwkZrj2VT4?is=r6bFp_X0zoCTsgYm

Hall & Oates

Everybody's high on consolation Everybody's trying to tell me what is right for me, yeah My daddy tried to bore me with a sermon But it's plain to see that they can't comfort me Sorry, Charlie, for the imposition I think I got it (got it), I got the strength to carry on, yeah I need a drink and a quick decision Now it's up to me, ooh, what will be She's gone, she's gone Oh I, oh I I better learn how to face it She's gone, she's gone Oh I, oh I I'd pay the devil to replace her She's gone, and she's gone Oh why, what went wrong? https://youtu.be/DxJZFZXBN8k?is=lfuWvJzaHrJlAJYt

More than Tolerance but Respect for Religious Differences

I was not alive when the modern state of Israel was established in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion and others. I arrived in this world some six years later. However, some of my remembrances relate to Israel and its relationship to its neighbors. In 1967, I was enamored with the game of golf. At our local, small town, public course kids were allowed to play starting at age ten. By 1967, my father had a family membership so I often would go to the course a mile or mile and half away in the morning when the course was not crowded. On June 5, 1967, I rode my bicycle to the course pulling my golf clubs and bag on their cart behind me. A few blocks away from the course, I fell off the bike. The apparent cause was that the bolt holding the golf cart handle in place had fallen out and the golf bag and clubs spilled on the sidewalk. Fortunately, it was outside of some sort of repair shop. The owner of the shop heard the racket from the clubs spilling and my falling. So, he came out to the sidewalk helped me up, skinned knees and all. He took me and my clubs back into his shop and came up with a repair to the pull golf cart somehow replacing the bolt that held its handle to the rest of the cart. As he was doing that, the radio in his shop was on. June 5, 1967 was the start of the Six Day War. He told me about that war started thst day inIsrael, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria as the radio news was full of coverage of same. Not sure how well I played golf that day, but I clearly remember that instance of the falling golf cart and the news of the start of war in the Middle East. In the fall of 1973, I had transferred from Aquinas College to Grand Valley State. The tuition was much lower at the public university (and I blamed Richard Nixon for the reduction in federal grants which helped me at Aquinas. Whether that was true or not, hey I was 19 years old.) Two of my college apartment mates at Grand Valley were Mitch and Lucian. Both had just spent a semester abroad studying and living on the Kibbutz where David Ben-Gurion had retired. They had indeed met the man. In early October 1973, two friends of Mitch and Lucian came to visit and stay with us in our college apartment. The two young men lived on Ben-Gurion's kibbutz and had become friends with my apartment mates. October 6 was the start of what the Israelis label the Yom Kippur War. The two young men were in the Israeli national guard and were immediately called back to Israel to serve in the military. They hurriedly arranged flights back to Israel. My time at Grand Valley lasted only one semester. For financial reasons, I left school in December to move back to my home town. In February 1974, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four years of active duty as a U.S. Navy Journalist. Journalist was a popular position in the Navy, so I had to wait until August 1974 to enter active duty at Great Lakes Naval station and my boot camp. I had enlisted because I wanted to be the first in my family to obtain a college degree. I hoped to study English literature. The G.I. Bill would allow me to have financial support. And men were no longer being drafted to serve in Vietnam. I returned to Grand Valley in the fall of 1978 after my enlistment. One of my first apartment mates was Ali. Ali was a foreign student from Lebanon. During that first semester back in school, Ali made friends with several Saudi students also on campus. At times, they would visit our college apartment. I like to say that I heard the "other side" of the Aab-Israeli dispute that semester from Ali. Obviously, I never fully understood the bitter feelings. I wish I knew the answer to that ongoing bitterness. I don't. I was glad to read this morning Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed apologize for an inapprpriate comment he had made concerning the terror attack on a Michigan synagogue earlier this year as reported by a Lansing TV station: https://www.wlns.com/news/politics/el-sayed-apologizes-synagogue-attack/ In my estimation, both Israelis and Palestinians (and other neighbors) have a right to live peacefully side-by-side. We need leaders on all sides to encourage that.