On a recent trip to Upstate New York, we met a woman from a small town who pointed to the green energy windmills nearby and said "all that energy goes to New York City; we don't see any of it." Whether or not her perception is accurate, it points to a belief that is widely held by Americans - somebody is benefitting from this, but not me.

In Western North Carolina, in one of the days in which Hurricane Helene was roaring through towns and wreaking havoc, a local paper covered the event with a small article on the front page, next to two unrelated photos: one, a man giving a thumbs up with a smile, and two, a colorful toucan. The Hendersonville Times-News, owned by Gannett, had superimposed it's glossy upbeat coverage over crisis coverage of the storm. The result was an almost humorous disconnect. 

For some years now the theme of "think global; act local" has been popular. The reality in many parts of the country is "think global; decimate local." People feel forgotten, overlooked, and swindled. The recent U.S. election gives testimony to this reality. People are angry, and they want change. 

It's incumbent upon each of us, especially the inside-the-Beltway elite (among those who David Axelrod refers to as the "smarty pants" demographic) to serve as a bridge to the rest of the country, ensuring that pie in the sky ideals are matched to the reality on the ground, in people's lives. It's worth taking a pause to consider how we could ensure that the woman in the small town could see the windmills as a help rather than a hindrance, and how locales damaged by the effects of climate change could be accurately portrayed in the national press.