We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.” Probably the most famous quote of Pogo Possum the central character in cartoonist Walt Kelly’s (1913-1973) American comic strip. It was most likely a parody of a message by Navy Commodore Oliver Perry to Army General William Harrison after his victory at Lake Erie in 1813 stating, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”

With the year 2014 now faded into the sunset and 2015 on the horizon, Pogo’s words could not be anymore prophetic. Paraphrased, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Perhaps not personally or individually, but collectively as a community, state and nation, we have people problems. When you look at almost any situation, people are at the root of the problem.

You take the deplorable and unsightly corridors leading into and out of the city, along the streets, and around the recycling bins. They are littered with paper and plastic trash. This rubbish did not get there just by happenstance. It was placed there by humankind. You cannot assign the blame to the fast food establishments or chain stores; they didn’t throw it out the window or drop it along the streets or fail to place it in the receptacles. They probably aren’t very pleased with it either.

Visitors to Selma do not discern from whom or how, but rather that it is trashy and therefore a reflection on all residents of Selma. Is this the image Selma wants to project? I think not, and does not reflect the good housekeeping and manners of most Selmians. It is however a people problem, therefore the enemy is us.

By the same set of standards, the shootings, break ins and other lawlessness reported on the front pages of the Selma Times-Journal cannot be blamed on the police. It is a people problem. Police are out trying their best to keep people from being killed or robbed. Just remember, whenever shots are fired, the police are running toward the shots not running away like everyone else.

The police are not the problem, people are the problem. It is overwhelmingly us killing us that needs fixing.

Nationally, the reason we find ourselves $18 trillion in debt and the government spending and throwing away money as if there were no tomorrow, is politicians are not held accountable. The people do not voice their concerns and outrage at a government that is completely out of control with spending and wasting money. Whose fault is it? It is not necessarily the elected politicians if allowed to get by with it. They were elected by a majority whether qualified or not. There is a responsibility of the citizenry to elect qualified individuals and to hold them accountable for spending taxpayer money. It is a duty not to be taken lightly.

The President and Congress should be bound by the Constitution and accountable to the people for breaches of public trust and failing to uphold the founding ideals and principles of our nation. It all comes down to being a people problem, and the enemy is us in not fulfilling our obligation as watchdogs of the Republic.

So, Pogo got it right, when all is said and done, we are our own worst enemy.