Friday, January 18, 2008

I don't have to live there to care.

There are some in this little virtual community that feel I have no stake in New Albany or the affairs that govern the city. It is true that I do not live in the city limits. The fact is, I live in the county of Floyd (barely) in the great state of Indiana in the greatest nation that has ever existed. I will defend the people that government tramples - hence the name of this blog. I will speak out on wasteful spending of tax dollars and crooked politicians. I will remind readers of campaign promises and lies that go unreported. I have spoken out on surrounding municipalities such as Charlestown and Jeffersonville. I have blogged about local, state and national topics. I do not blog about the ultimate dream of European style governance that others wish existed here. Comments are always welcome, but my convictions are solid and based in truth and conservative values. I may not live in New Albany, but my love for America and my little piece of that dream compel me to speak out. Even those that disagree with me have acknowledged broken promises by the mayor and have expressed many ways in which the money could be better utilized. Why then do they defend a man that has a record of lies and shadiness? Are they that tightly connected to a party that their vision is blurred? I will continue to speak out against any administration, right or left, that misappropriates the peoples funds or attempts to hide the truth no matter the location.

1 comment:

The New Albanian said...

That's all well and good. Four years ago, I was doing the same thing, and someone whose opinion I value advised me that if I intended to talk the talk, I should also walk the walk, attend council meetings, ask questions, see how the system works, and then have a greater understanding -- after which I'd still be free to say or write anything I please.

Wise counsel indeed.

Having done so, and tried diligently (by my inconsistent standards) to learn something, now I get routinely accused by (mostly anonymous) people (mostly) standing on the sidelines (not pointing the finger at you) that I've cozied up to the problem, etc, etc.

We have a fundamentally divergent view on a couple of levels. I believe things need to be fixed and we should collectively pay for it; you fear this approach for the reasons that Grover Norquist has elucidated for years.

Fair enough.

Secondly, you embrace a theistic value system that you tie closely with your view of America, while I embrace no such system and believe that religion should be unbound from politics.

Again, fair enough. We're hardly the first two to disagree on these matters.

I'll pass along the advice I was given. Come on in, stick your nose in the door, and see how it works -- whether in New Albany or at the county council meetings. My doing so ended up modifying the views I had on several fronts. It may or may not do the same for you, but experience never hurts, does it?