At the risk of bringing to life a thread I hope we can all agree should die, there is a real cost to war and all this other stuff that happens at a national and international level. The cost is that, even here, people have trouble staying focused on what they can do to improve their lives in this city we live in.
Yes, these big events and the teevee nooze hyping them are a real draw. But what on earth are people gonna do about it, really? We can protest and all that -- but aren't there things here in Saint Paul that seem so much less important yet we can DO something about them?
Our life is good here, for sure. A lot less needs improving than many places I can think of. And certainly, if you look at where our tax dollars go it's about 3.3% to all local units, 6.6% to the State, and 20% to the Feds -- it doubles each time you go up a level. A lot of that is redistributed downward, but is this really what a Republic is supposed to look like?
And I really think that the people who do the work that affects us the most -- police, teachers, fireman, public works -- really get hopelessly lost in the shuffle. Nobody thought twice about how fireman risk their lives into hundreds were lost in a far away conflagration.
In these trouble times, with all these big events and with all of the structure that diverts attention and resources upward, how do we keep a focus on a place where we can all make a difference by working together?
To me, that's the real cost of all this -- losing our sense of place and where we fit into it.
Erik Hare [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.comcast.net/~wabbitoid/ Irvine Park, West End, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, North America, Earth
Fine Amish furniture, cedar chests, and crafts http://www.harmonycedar.com
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