Home of Today's Common Sense

Published Brownsville Herald 11/23/2003
Recent events such as the growing maliciousness in the campaign rhetoric we have seen recently in local elections and particularly in the California recall election, by candidates of both major parties has me very concerned.
I know few successful people that at one time or other have not made a mistake that in the cold light of “hindsight” examination would not create severe problems, or have engaged in some activity at some point in their lives, while legal might be viewed in today’s perspective as unseemly.

I hold the view that “People that don’t screw up; don’t do anything”. As no one in my estimation is likely to be perfect with the exception of the Diety, I wonder where new candidates are going to come from. Will they be folks who have never done anything, therefore politically acceptable and thus guaranteed to be elected forever. I certainly hope not.
Even when citizens and in some cases the media express their fears, misguided or not, they are quickly attacked as obstructionists or worse by our public officials.
We the electorate are the employers and our hard earned money is extorted to pay for the mistakes as well as successes. I would think we have a right to real explanations not condescension, as though we can’t understand so we don’t rate an answer. I have seen this condescension in some of the letters by BISD officials and Community Officials in these opinion pages.
Now and then the normally silent majority gets fed up and comes out and votes in larger than expected numbers and fires their public leaders. That is what happened in California. Mr. Davis surely didn’t create all the problems but he was the icon for those that did and very unpopular to a great extent, in my opinion because he was perceived as condescending and felt that onlu he had the answers. To really be effective California would have to change much of the legislature also.
The really exciting thing is that the recall reduced the impact of the major party structure and gave the opportunity for change to more than 100 possible candidates. It seems quite clear to me that “Arnold” was not the choice of the “Party System” and he was vilified in the press. He was, however, chosen by the people with a substantial margin. A true citizen statesman! I wonder could this be a trend?
The problem is how do we get good candidates to run, when they know they will be intensely investigated and personally attacked relative to personal proclivities rather than the abilities to successfully conduct the public business. Then when there is a good candidate and only 15% of those that can vote, do vote, those that stayed home re-elect the incumbent and support the status-quo.
The way of life our nation has gone to war to preserve can be lost in the peace if we don’t vote.
If you didn’t vote in the last election, how can you do anything other than support what is happening – your absence voted loudly for the current result.