Though “tis the season” for holiday cheer, we’ve noticed a dark cloud of negativity has descended on our area in recent weeks, ranging from individuals upset at what they consider to be a lack of festive decorations to changes in what many apparently thought was an unchanging tradition.

This cloud has manifested and festered within social media, as it so often does these days. This forms an echo chamber, where those shouts of outrage, pushing of conspiracies and the demand things change — frequently without offering solutions — grow and ripple throughout the area.

It’s really sad to witness.

Before these shouts and anger, has anyone asked questions about why changes may have been made?

And we don’t mean just in the comment section where anyone can answer however they wish, with no facts to back them up.

Instead, take the time to research who may be behind the decision and simply ask… why?

Maybe you’ll outright disagree and the outrage will stay. Maybe you’ll understand but still feel the choice was wrong.

Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll simply find the answer is reasonable and save your blood pressure.

Jumping to conclusions isn’t only a magnet for anger, it can also stifle healthy dialogue that could otherwise lead to common ground or understanding.

Take, for but one example, individuals who have recently been upset about a lack of decor for the holidays in the city.

Decorations downtown, such as garlands on light poles — and the tree at Triangle Park — are put up by volunteers.

This year, the Freemasons found the tree, decorated it and hosted the tree lighting. That requires manpower, access to the right decor and equipment to safely hang it.

That’s quite a lot of steps to take for people who are just volunteering their time.

Outside of the holidays, this volunteer work can be seen throughout the year and all over the county, including nonprofits, church groups and more who work tirelessly to bring about cherished events — such as Best of Clinton County by Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. in June, the Lock Haven Fire Department’s annual Halloween parade or the Kiwanis Club of BENV’s annual Santa’s Workshop held in December, to mention just a few.

So many people take time out of their busy lives to offer fun activities, many of which are free admission, for you to enjoy.

Too often it seems the efforts of these individuals are buried under critiques or a misunderstanding of the work they provide — or, perhaps even more frustratingly, accusations that their work, provided freely as it is, is not enough.

Often, members of local civic groups and clubs are your retired neighbor, or a parent at your local school balancing their full time job, such as a grocery store clerk or bank teller. They’re people who, though perhaps busy within their personal lives, still want to improve the quality of life here for everyone.

They see a need and they take steps to actively meet it.

A recent example, of course, is the Clinton County Community Assembly who were quick to start a pop-up pantry during the shutdown — and now, even after the government reopened, they’re still taking time out of their weekend to offer food and other necessities for free.

These people — helpers — deserve so much better than they get. And this is especially true during this time of year, when everyone is already extremely busy. People do not volunteer just to be punching bags, and if you want to continue to berate them, you should consider what that says about you.

Or, if you think you can do better, perhaps give it a try yourself. We frequently run briefs, advertisements, articles and more for local organizations looking for help.

Consider directing that energy somewhere more productive.