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Looking for answers in City Politics
Here we go again. Back into the eye of the storm. The political storm,that is.
If you have spent at least five minutes of your time on any sort of media lately, you have surely noticed. The airwaves, streaming waves, and social media waves are filled with campaign ads. As Election Day approaches this November Third, it will likely get evenmore annoyingly bombastic.
Candidates from across the land slither out from the nether regions with one thought uppermost in their minds. We wanna be elected!
I alone can fix it
Watch these ads carefully and notice they all carry the same basic message. They start by stating the obvious facts which we experience in our daily lives. Things are bad. Like, really bad. But not just normal bad. Armageddon, pits of Hades, fire ‘n brimstone bad.
Then they place the blame. Unwashed illegal immigrants, taking our jobs and, inexplicably, also stealing Welfare and Medicaid. Or corrupt billionaires, getting fat on the backs of the working class. Or the targets dujour, trans athletes and drag queen reading hours destroying our youth.
And who empowers this blight on the soul of these United States? Why, the political opposition, of course!
Leaving only one solution. Vote for meeeee!
Marcy Kaptur, too liberal, wants higher taxes and men playing girl’s sports, so vote for Derek Merrin. But wait! Derek cozies up to Big Electricity and hates your essential health care, so vote Marcy!
Enough of this quasi-religious bull dookie. We’re not voting for Moses to lead us out of bondage and into the promised land. We’re choosing elected officials who best represent our interests in policymaking.
These are all flawed human beings, like the rest of us. If you’re looking for the perfect candidate, fuggettabout it. There are no saints on the ballot. No wizards, no magic
wands. Just mundane folks with ambition and policy goals. No one is coming to save us.
We the people
Here’s an example. Toledo is awash in gun violence this summer. Why isn’t Wade doing anything about it?
That’s the wrong question. Is Wade aware of the problem? Undoubtedly. Does he care? Of course. Has he taken policy steps toward a solution?
That’s a bit trickier. What policies will address a culture suffused in the valorization of weaponry and violent solutions to myriad problems? He’s tried neighborhood-level de-escalation. He’s tried enhanced youth programming. He’s tried creative policing. Can’t he alone fix it? No. Duh. Here’s a different question. What have we the people done collectively to fix it?
When you go to the ballot box next month, keep some things in mind. You’re not looking for a messiah. Or a person who you agree with on every issue. Don’t sacrifice the good in the fruitless pursuit of the perfect. Vote for the person who best reflects your values and trust they will generally represent your interests. Not every time, just more often than not.
One last thing. Vote like our policy future depends on it, because it does. But voting isn’t enough. It doesn’t absolve us of our daily civic responsibility. That responsibility continues after the election has come and gone.
The day after the election, on November Fourth, start to consider what you can do to make our beloved Toodleydoo a better place.
Looking for a political savior? Look in the mirror.
