Let down and hanging around
This is from the KGW website at this hour. There used to be a time when even one story like this would have everyone in Portland's attention for a week or more. Now there are several such stories a day. We've all become numb to the violence and danger. And to the fact that government at every level, but especially at City Hall, has utterly failed.
People in the big cities used to ask me why I lived here. On top of all the natural beauty nearby, Portland was clean, safe, quiet, easy to get around in, with good schools, and relatively affordable. All that's gone now. Go east, young man.
Yes. City hall is worthless
ReplyDeleteBut, the elephant in the room, for the last several decades, has been the decline of civil discord.
Do you mean discourse? We have plenty of discord.
ReplyDeleteYa. I should read before I send
DeleteI think the biggest problem has been the steep decline in the intelligence of the politicians. Vera Katz was a PITA, but compared to Jo Ann Hardesty she was Madame Curie.
DeleteIt’s not just the politicians, though. It’s inadequate education throughout the country, at every level.
DeleteThe elephant in the room is mom’s and dad’s that masquerade as parents
ReplyDeleteEndless military operations where we spend 7x on the war machine more than all other countries. The police have been militarized, the gangs have become militarized, social media has become militarized, politicians have become militarized (I'm fighting the war on...). Any wonder why we have become a war zone? There used to be slight pushback from the Liberal Democrats, but that is a distant memory.
ReplyDelete