Tompkins County’s Progressive government has progressed beyond democracy and representation — to a flat-out dictatorship. Citizens get to attend “Public Hearings” – where they get to hear what will happen; and submit comments – that are filed and stored and then discarded to make room for more comments. Take it or leave it; there’s nothing you can do about it. “Questions? . . . We’ve had trouble with you before. . .
It’s all stonewalling and pushback when rural residents try to implement traffic control measures. The same County that enforces a maximum speed limit of 30 mph on all roads traveling through the City of Ithaca; refuses to post any limits in their County-controlled rural roads. And in spite of the accidents and entreaties of residents: they have refused to patrol these roads – encouraging an ever-increasing flood of reckless workers, students, and commercial vehicles who know they’ll never get a ticket. Even with documented evidence of the most blatant disregard of law and human life – the have never once acknowledged that there is a problem. They sit there like stone-faced judges in a wall of indifference. They covet our land — without us. Urban Colonialism.
Looking at the inner workings; without being able to see the inner workings – is a common occurrence with those trying to participate in Tompkins County government.
Public policy is decided and ratified privately. Take it, or leave it: there’s nothing you can do about it.
The word “hearing” conjures up clips of hard hitting, hard questioning Congressional Hearings — but nothing could be farther from today’s local and county hearings. Along with all he public participation of a royal proclamation, and the transparency of bullet-proof glass – government planning is sold with a carefree lack of accountability: Comments from the public are met with an indifference that underscores the absence of any meaningful public participation or oversight.The only hard hitting going on in public hearings is the way their planning hits the public.
It’s a “takers” society – and as the events, policies, and media hype swirl around us: there’s an erosion of individual worth and the “work ethic” – and all ethical conduct.
Rewards come; not from the persistence of hard work – but from the persistence of a fox circling the henhouse. Life is not the opportunity to achieve – but the opportunity to take.
The legitimacy of our government is no longer based on ethics; but on the profitability of its policies. Politicians and experts have swelled their egos to become the deciders:
They are reshaping the world — and some people are just excess population.
If you want to experience the futility of our future: attend a Public Hearing.
What fools we are! Our taxes pay for the lawyers that advise our local governments on how to legally minimize or eliminate public participation in the decision making process – and all the new regulatory programs enacted – like Form Based Codes and Nine-Point Plans – remove the public from any authority or oversight; even in the most radical and far reaching policy decisions.
It’s hard to blame the public for being apathetic; when the sole result of attending public hearings is the legitimizing of decisions that are anything but public mandates.
Publicly presenting your thought out and well-documented criticisms; to a Town Board that approves the policy within seconds of your speaking — is like voting in an election with only one candidate.
The sound of one hand clapping? It’s meaningful public participation.
There comes a time when you have to do something – even if you don’t know it. “Due diligence” is more than just a legal satisfaction: it’s the price of survival.
Whether it’s “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” or “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” – people speak of a hard won wisdom: that we need to take care of business – before the business gets out of hand.
Preparing for the future used to part of the responsibility of adulthood; but in our adolescent society – the importance of immediacy is wrapped up in the testing of boundaries; not whether there’s food for tomorrow.
There is a tsunami of problems that will inundate every shore – and no self-righteous obliviousness can ride that wave.
If we are morphing into a society [and a world] that blames everything on the past; and won’t take responsibility for the future – the time we have left is slipping away.
Politics is all about convenience – and there’s nothing more convenient than a vague and nebulous classification:
Especially one with emotional leverage.
How many communities have allowed housing complexes that will serve elderly residents – that turned out to be high-crime, felon and sex offender dumping grounds — with a scattering of elderly as perennial victims.
The “Homeless” designation is the perfect heart-tugging catch-all to disguise the problems of drug addiction, violent crime, and under-the-radar serial killers passing through.
Dumping your problems on someone else is more convenient than trying to solve them yourself – and more practical. It changes: “I’m no good for not solving them” to “you’re selfish if you don’t accept them.”
The Cornell-Ithaca machine “allocates burdens” to the other towns in the county – while keeping all the benefits to themselves.
It’s not that residents don’t understand what’s going on – it’s just that Tompkins County is not a representative government – and these days: it doesn’t even bother to hide it.
When corruption reaches a level of blatant display and whispered stories — it’s past remediation.
When you’re only a passenger – there’s no guilt in throwing up your hands and shouting: “we’re all going to die!” — and having your arms broken by the airbag.
I was speaking with someone who was blaming the attendees at the Climate Change Conference for the state of inaction. What will that person do? Nothing. In 2022: blaming someone else is enough. The doctrinal world is more “real” than the real world.
While those “blameless” ones have been assured of their place in line – politicians know it take’s money and connections to get past the rope.
Our childish population won’t need to hold their breath until they turn blue — it will be a naturally occurring phenomenon. So many lenses – so little lens cleaning.