Last one of these on this subject, I promise.
Holle asks:
>The story that makes me "breathless" is that thousands of
>Minneapolis citizens have contributed to a completely independent
grassroots
>third party campaign that is now making national news. Is it irrelevant to
>this e-mail list when a real popular movement for justice and democracy
>emerges in Minneapolis? Or are we only concerned with what the policymakers
>are doing at City Hall?
Minneapolitans are doing thousands of things they are all breathless about.
I'm sure thousands of Minneapolitans are breathless they bused to the
airport yesterday to listen to George Bush. They feel they are taking
personal freedom back and restoring morality to government. Thousands of
Minneapolitans are breathless that they vote for Al Gore, continuing
hard-won economic prosperity and restoring the place of government as a
protector of the public commons.
My point is: there's a lot of righteousness out there, and Minneapolitans --
like folks nationwide -- are doing their thing for national causes.
This is all well and good - great, even. It is not appropriate for
Minneapolis-issues, however. Our place is to give primacy to LOCAL issues,
LOCAL concerns, LOCAL impacts. We are, as I have said before, a parochial
forum by design.
This is not to slight the bigger picture. But we are a place to bring the
local picture into sharp focus. This has nothing to do with a particular
ideology. No other internet forum is doing this for Minneapolis. That's why
E-Democracy and myself are so protective of the space, and will continue to
be so.
Think globally, but talk about local stuff.
David Brauer
List manager, Minneapolis-issues
