I’m back from vacation, filled with the spirit of humanity following a blissful week of single-family mobility that got us where we wanted to be in a hurry. After much contemplation and conversation with those who hold other political views, with I realized I perhaps was getting a bit shrill in the past few weeks.

That said, I have to wonder about yesterday’s N&R editorials. I find it strange in today’s lead editorial, the N&R rightly questions the General Assembly borrowing $857 million for high-ed projects, saying such an approach “denies citizens the chance to decide for themselves whether projects are worthy. It reduces opportunities for public discussion.”

Then they turn around and applaud the Piedmont Land Conservacy purchase of 300 acres of Gehrringer Dairy land with state and federal grants, saying as the “state transitions to high tech white-collar jobs, preserving farmland may seem just a backward glance. In fact, it is a forward look to an appealing, environmentally friendly future.”

I realize there’s an emphasis on buying locally to today’s social climate, and that’s great. You’re crazy not to go local in the summer here in the South. I’ve got tomatoes and cucumbers growing in the garden, and I’m a regular at the Greensboro Curb Market. That said, maybe I believe that using taxpayers money to help out the Gerringer farm is a worthy project, maybe I don’t. No one asked me.

Yes, Guilford County commissioners blocked the use of $10 million in bond money to buy the land, but if you remember correctly, commissioners balked because the definition of “open space” was a bit ambiguous. Commissioners had no clue what they were putting on the ballot and voters had no clue what they were approving.

So much for asking the public about the “worthiness of projects.” I understand the argument that the Gerringer farm is a “worthy project.” I’m sure many citizens feel that a $109 million classroom and and office building at UNCG are worthy projects. Dental schools at UNC and ECU are worthy projects, too, right? That’s exactly the problem: they’re all “worthy projects.” And that’s why the state has to borrow money.