We live in our own little world in the highrises but we also live in the larger community in our vicinity. The theme for all has to be "doing more with less" and I must caution that my thoughts are conditioned in part by having seen CM Zimmermann marching with very many more people in Uptown "on another matter" in the immediate aftermath of the Saturday morning session.
I live with many neighbors from East Africa and from Spanish-speaking countries. I know from my own eyes and the census that there are many thousands of new arrivals in our midst who bring fresh energies to the city's life. "Doing more with less" to me means having a respectful relationship with these folks: cultivating individual acquaintanceships with other seniors, making every effort to see understandings that we take for granted in English available in appropriate non-English formats, expecting to learn from these other steady voices, making an effort in common to keep our collective community hale and hearty. None of that costs money up front. Better understanding can be promulgated by the air we all breathe. My organized neighbors who ponder development, law enforcement, quality of education and the like do so - as I do - primarily as volunteers. In my book, civic engagement comes with living in the city and I encourage creative use of available social, cultural, and physical materials. Additional money helps, but creative problem-solving is more about attitude, not bank balances. It's about "we can do this!" as a starting point, even though the devil's in the details and some stuff does cost money. Less litigation would be nice - that would save a bunch. Less foreign adventurism would also be nice - the guns and butter argument - and while we may not have much punch in Washington or on CNN, we can surely learn to listen to one another better locally especially on matters of language and culture diversity and learn to accept help and leadership from our new neighbors - not terrorize them with clumsy and punitive interventions in their lives. Saves money in the long run! Fred Markus, Horn Terrace, Ward Ten, in the Lyndale Neighborhood --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.435 / Virus Database: 244 - Release Date: 12/30/2002 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
