A Community's True Energy

Dear Glenden,

Back in our grandparent’s day, Salt Lake City was known for its extensive public transportation system — both light and commuter rail — the very kind of system we are now trying to rebuild. But, the Democrat partisan community planning you reference actually called for American cities to tear-up their rail lines in favor of building freeways, and Salt Lake City followed suit. That is an inconvenient truth that very few Democrats of today will fess up to, but it is the truth.

The lesson in that story is not that Democrats are dumb and Republicans are smart. On the contrary, what it teaches us is that partisan positions are always changing, and loyalists who staunchly advocate a policy in order to fall in with the official party line may not be acting in the best interest of a community. What we need, then, are leaders who prove themselves to be thoughtful, wise, and prudent — not merely loyal to the central party line at a particular moment in time.

Now, as for Ralph Becker’s emphasis on nightlife, I believe that this is a mistaken position. I am convinced that in order to revitalize our capitol city we need to encourage a more family friendly environment, not just to play, but to live. In short, we need to clean up the city’s neighborhoods and make them desirable, affordable, and livable for families. That is where a community’s true energy comes from — real people living in the city, engaged in real everyday activities — not just strangers who occasionally drive in to get drunk and chase tail.

So, maybe Jake Garn wasn’t so wrong after all. What do you think?

Sincerely,
A.W.

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I wrote the preceding in response to an article written by Glenden Brown entitled "Jake Garn is wrong - big surprise" appearing July 19, 2007 in the blog One Utah.