We have some desperate elected officials in the Old Pueblo these days. They are desperate to remain in their echo chambers in which they only hear that their failures are in fact, acts of heroic genius, simply too brilliant to be appreciated by the unwashed masses.
We have some desperate elected officials in the Old Pueblo acting desperately trying to redefine the word “civility” to mean “silence.” Despicably and desperately they have used the tragic shooting on January 8th to shoot down free speech.
For a long time, not so long ago, the residents of Southern Arizona were fat and happy. Nary a care in the world. Our property tax bills annoyed us, but not enough. The endless spending on some mythical place called Rio Nuevo caused pause, but only briefly. The weird stories coming out of TUSD and Tom Horne’s mouth were just too weird to take seriously by any serious person.
We, the citizenry were desperate to remain in our slumber; desperate to remain “sleepwalking through history.” The faint buzz of distant alarm clocks on Wall Street became an air raid siren on January 8th. Many of us jumped out of our comfy beds and ran to our respective bunkers. We only peeked out occasionally to view the rubble. The largest local paper lulled the others back to bed to continue their sweet dreams.
And then there are those who suffer from insomnia of the soul. They have restless conscience syndrome which keeps them awake wondering what they can say or do to stop Tucson, Arizona from becoming another Ruby, Arizona.
The wondering and the wacky approach the august boards with little hope, but little choice. The wondering are usually compelled by a deep desire to learn the truth, and the wacky are usually driven by a deep desire to share their “truth.”
Both must now fear the fear of their fearless leaders.
Yesterday, TUSD School Board member Michael Hicks wrote, “I want to hear from the public. I don’t want them to be polite, I want them to be honest, and I will return the favor. The public must feel free to tell me what I am and am not doing right. I will take the time to explain my actions. I might not like what the public has to say, and they might not like what I have to say, but we can’t stop listening.”
That is easy to say for him; he has nothing to fear. The difference between Hicks, Stegeman, and Kozachik, is that they don’t have to fear what the public has to say. Either because they haven’t been around long enough to be culpable for the debris field called Tucson, or they can honestly say that did all they could do to stop the ruin.
The fearful leaders like Walkup, Romero, Scott, Elias, Burns, and Grijalva who have nearly squandered our fortunes, our city’s future, our kids’ time, and their opportunities for future success have “nothing to fear but fear itsef. The exposure of their corruption in a public forum is frightening indeed. Shutting free speech down only makes sense. They aren’t stupid.
The fearful leaders tell the wondering public that if they behave, they will be heard. No one in their right mind comes before the Tucson’s City Council, Pima County’s Board of Supervisors, or TUSD’s School Board because they believe they will be heard. They aren’t stupid.
Hicks writes, “We are experiencing difficult times. People feel disenfranchised and disconnected. The frustration can be heard in voices from all sectors. We have a long way to go, and a lot of damage in our governmental organizations to fix, we can’t shut down the taxpayers, or they will most surely shut us down.”
He gets it. The others never will.
Those who are awake and wondering, come before the boards and councils out of desperation. They are desperate to reach someone outside of the rooms, someone not vested in the status quo, who might be suffering from insomnia of the soul too and will join them at the next board or council meeting.
They are desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures.