Somewhere That Loves ALL

Kara Flietstra

Sep 9

3 min read

Big Bear is more than a beautiful place.

It is a community of people, animals, wildlife, neighborhoods, forests, and shared spaces. Everything we do affects someone—or something—around us.

If we want Big Bear to thrive, we must lead with empathy, kindness, and respect for all.

Kindness Is a Community Value

I was raised to treat others the way I would want to be treated.

That idea is simple, but it matters. Kindness is how we build trust, work through disagreements, and create a community where people feel heard.

Kindness is not weakness. It takes strength to remain respectful when conversations are difficult. Our elected leaders should be responsive, honest, and willing to listen— Residents should never feel dismissed, or unheard.

Empathy also leads to better decisions. When leaders take time to understand how a policy will affect families, workers, seniors, businesses, neighborhoods, and future generations, they are more likely to find practical solutions that serve the whole community.

We will not always agree, but we can disagree without treating one another as enemies. No political issue, personal opinion, or community debate should be more important than our shared humanity.

Caring for the Animals Who Depend on Us

The animals in our community deserve our compassion, too.

Our pets are family, yet a shocking number of dogs are brought to Big Bear and abandoned. We have a responsibility to confront this heartbreaking problem—not simply expect the county shelter to manage an overwhelming burden alone. I would love to see Big Bear establish its own humane society while supporting responsible pet ownership, accessible animal services, safe sheltering, adoption, spaying and neutering, emergency planning, and the local organizations and volunteers already caring for animals in need.

Mountain living also brings us close to wildlife. Bears, coyotes, bald eagles, burros, and countless other species share this environment with us. Loving them means protecting their habitats, and teaching residents and visitors how to coexist responsibly.

Loving the Place We Call Home

Our lake, forests, trails, neighborhoods, and clean mountain air are part of our shared home.

Caring for Big Bear means picking up after ourselves, protecting our water, respecting fire restrictions, preserving open spaces, preventing graffiti, maintaining healthy forests, and planning carefully for growth. It means leaving this mountain better than we found it.

Environmental stewardship is not separate from caring for people. Clean water, safe neighborhoods, wildfire resilience, healthy forests, and accessible outdoor spaces directly affect our health, safety, economy, and quality of life.

When we care for the mountain, the mountain can continue caring for us.

Compassion in Action

Love is not just something we say. It is something we practice.

It looks like checking on a neighbor during a storm. Supporting a local business during the slow season. Thanking the people working through a crowded holiday weekend. Making room for a pedestrian. Volunteering. Adopting an animal. Cleaning up a trail. Listening respectfully to someone with a different perspective.

It also means building systems that reflect those values. A caring community provides safe places for young people, protects its most vulnerable residents, supports essential services, treats workers with dignity, and makes local government accessible to everyone.

Big Bear does not need more division. It needs people willing to work together.