Despite what some might say, Lewiston is in the right place in the world and the right time in history.

We are blessed with the majestic Androscoggin River, a mighty river worthy of a great city, and we have an inspiring and unifying natural feature in the Great Falls. Here in central Maine, we are better prepared than most to adapt to the ravages of climate change — we have no rising ocean to contend with, and our cool weather means higher temperatures won’t be as deadly. We have plenty of fresh water, an increasingly precious resource.

Lewiston has ample human advantages, too. Home to two significant hospitals and one of the country’s best colleges, our city has health care and educational infrastructure most small cities lack. We have a young and increasingly diverse population, and a proud history of being a city where new Americans can build a home for themselves.

From the Irish fleeing hunger to the Francos fleeing poverty to the Somalis fleeing war, Lewiston has been a refuge for those who seek it, and an opportunity for those who seize it. We are living in the shadows of the great works of past generations, a legacy both physical and spiritual they entrusted to us. Every time we cross a canal, go to dinner in an old mill building, or amble down historic Lisbon Street, we walk in the footsteps of those who came before us, and made Lewiston the city it is today.

None of this is to say we don’t have challenges. Poverty, and its attendant horrors of crime and substance abuse, continue to ravage our community generation after generation. And bigotry, whether in the form of a burning cross on Mount David targeting Catholics, or a bloody pig’s head in a mosque targeting Muslims, has poisoned our city longer than anyone can remember.

The most serious challenge, however, is pessimism and hopelessness. Far too many in Lewiston have given up on the promise of change, and others see no need for change in the first place. There is a pettiness and meanness to our civic life, where squabbles about who’s to blame for our city’s troubles drown out efforts to overcome them. A city doesn’t die when the mills shut down, or when a recession or a pandemic hits; it dies when its people stop believing that tomorrow can be better than yesterday.

Responsibility for this lowering of our ambitions, this timidity of vision, falls on the shoulders of Lewiston’s leaders, but it also falls on each one of us for failing to insist on more. We must not be a city where everyone wants things to be different, but no one wants anything to change. Our city has to be brave enough, and confident enough, to embrace new ways of thinking and new visions of what we can be.

I believe there are more of us here in Lewiston who are optimistic and excited about the future than pessimistic and scared of it. As a School Committee member, I see the talent and ambition of our students and can’t help but feel encouraged about what tomorrow will bring. But we can’t wait for a new generation to come of age before making our city better. We have to start today.

The path forward for Lewiston will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is. We must change our mindset about newcomers — new neighbors, be they from Auburn or Angola, are an unalloyed treasure to our city, and they must be made to feel welcome.

We must change our mindset about education; no more can we afford to project our own insecurities onto Lewiston’s youngest generation. Our students are our future, and we should do everything possible to ensure they get an excellent education.

We must change our mindset about those who are struggling, for the measure of our city is how it treats the least among us. Openness, aspiration, and empathy must become our watchwords, and drive our public policy.

In so doing, we will not only improve our community today, but leave to future generations a city they deserve.

Kiernan Majerus-Collins is a member of the Lewiston School Committee representing Ward 3 in downtown. He is a graduate of Bates College.