Gary Hoover <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:One of the things that makes me (and others) cynical about campaigns and politics is the number of false credit-taking claims made by or on behalf of candidates. Another thing is the number of false "attack" claims made against opposing candidates.
Even more interesting to me is the increasing irrelevance of politics to the real world. For example, our local politicians dutifully refuse to relate our urban infrastructure decisions to one of the biggest problems we face: global warming and climate change. Furthermore, our local politicians carefully refuse to acknowledge that our present urban infrastructure demands war to sustain it. Finally, we are in the midst of a dramatic population bloom fueled by a comfortable way of mis-using fossil fuel resources without regard for the consequences. Perhaps this was excusable when we were naive about the nature of our relationship to the environment, but such naiveté is no longer possible. "Intentional ignorance" is the only term to describe the way in which our local politicians exclude the most important issues from the way we plan for the future. Most of the "sustainable infrastructure" projects we are rightly so proud of are mere window-dressing which provide a false sense of progress. We must celebrate them but also realize that sustainable infrastructure is not an optional addition to our way of life, but a vital necessity. Politicians must instruct and inspire in order to lead us into a future worth living. So far, they dial for dollars and are hobbled by those who refuse to "know enough to care or care enough to know" about the consequences of the way we presently live. Rybak or McLaughlin: both will see that new unsustainable boondoggles (sports stadia and lots more roads) are built while vital sustainable infrastructure, education,, shelter and health issues are neglected. We need to go in a radically different direction than we are. Neither of the DFL endorsed candidates understand this. Neither will set a new course for Minneapolis. Same old same old. --pedaling into the future from Lynnhurst in the present -- Gary Hoover REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls --------------------------------- Yahoo! for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
