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Dear candidates for public offices in Columbus, Ohio;
I have been paying attention to all of you and a few of you have been very creative in your promises to be all you can be for us. I have listened to and read what you say is important to us all and these are very good discussions and we need to have them. But equally important is we need to move beyond the discussions, past the election process and actually implement the things we all know we need to be better than we are and go further than we have become accustomed to. I have long railed against what has been business as expected by the usual suspects who have made public offices in Columbus and Franklin County stepping stones to bigger offices and in some cases "retirement homes" where they believe face-time in front of cameras and recognition is enough to keep them gainfully employed without having to actually accomplish much. That's what we have had for a long time; good speakers with impressive backdrops, ie: fancy suits,stylish haircuts and propping up their families as models for the rest of us to be like. They do that and then carefully choreograph "Hollywood-like" mini plays where they are surrounded by other impressive people who pretend to adore them as they walk among hard hats in factories or holding hands with rag-a-muffins in blighted areas, promising things they have no intention of delivering.
We have a history of voting for you because you have familiar names and because you raise obscene amounts of money to insure we hear your messages. Millions will be spent getting some of you elected or re-elected and when I think of how far that money you keep raising could have gone to resolve real issues that you speak of I wonder if you are serious about the things you talk about. Some of you have names that have been circulating on ballots for decades!
That has been our political scene here for a very long time and we all know it, but where we fail is in not talking more about the bottomless rhetoric of people of those with the most support. Any student of the cycle who has really paid attention would know that a style of politics exists here where the mentors of those they steer into office is not that unlike the shady deal making that has existed in places like Chicago, Baltimore and D.C. for eons. Our current mayor has even been revered by the local media for his trendy taste for expensive suits and ties. He appears to revel in looking good and being liked by the money bags more than he does in wanting to really be a people's mayor. But then again, who can blame him? He works in an environment that has been this way for years. Great talkers who look great in pictures, but ask anyone who is either unemployed or underemployed how impressed they are. They are less likely to follow these people and smile at everything they say or do than the media is, and thank God for the media and its willingness to keep showing them because otherwise we might not know how much they truly care about all of us. Because it is us that they lose sleep over, night after night isn't it? One of my favorite talking points that is getting a lot of air-time now is how much is a fair wage for people who are willing to work any job they are lucky enough to find.
The raising of the minimum wage is a start, but the discussion itself is a slap in the face to anyone trying to survive on 8 or 10 dollars an hour. That is our biggest problem, the cash flow that is needed between consumers and those in business cannot grow unless we leave behind basic commodities and focus on what cost the most. But is that a good idea? Aren't we leaving more and more people behind in our zeal for higher technology jobs and positions in the investment or medical field? I confess, I am a little bitter about that because most of the people I care about haven't found a way of paying for the education they might need to apply for those jobs, and just as many don't particularly want that line of work. We have a record of building more high priced condos than we do of more affordable homes for those begging for better wages, and we build them at the expense of ignoring boarded up ones that no one wants.
But before I am labeled you should read further, and know this, I am a Democrat but I am not a liberal and because the Democratic party here has become more liberal than suits me I am willing to listen to the other side. I have no history of supporting Republicans but I would if it meant a fairer balance of discussions over what we need to get done. Personally I would like to see a complete tear-down of what we have now, all new and fresh faces in the mayor's office and on city council. And this is where my views get a little sticky; I am sick of no middle ground that is best for all of us, not just for the special interest groups that include the money bags as well as those who only want what they can get for free. As an older white male who has paid at least my fair share in dues and probably more than some, I am tired of hearing that I should change what has always been my way of thinking. All I ever wanted and hope for is that we all get what we want if we can earn it, even if it means holding onto our values, and even when they might not be politically correct.
I can stand with anyone and support their agendas only if I don't have to change or give up what has always worked for me. What has worked is that I ask no one for anything over and above what I have earned and that as we dole out new privileges and muster new conformity's that we are expected to live with and embrace, that my needs are also met. I cannot be sympathetic to poor race relations that are making headlines now because there are too many on both sides of that issue who do all they can to keep the problems going. I will not be held responsible for my own race if some in it are bad seeds. I grew up and stayed in the south end all my life and the African American community and me have lived close to one another all that time and we don't hate one another although some might. They are the ones who always will regardless of what gets changed or doesn't. What happened in Ferguson was tragic and I don't want to see it here and if it makes its way here I didn't bring it and neither did anyone I care about. But if it does, I will not join either side, either in a peaceful or violent act. My African American friends and neighbors feel the same as I do. We won't lift a finger to incite anything that could take a bad turn and get us at each other's throats. Some would but we expect our leaders to find ways to resolve those things. Many of us are just too old to risk injury if things go south. But can our leaders do it? Think about it, our top city politicians have been in office for years, and if new problems surface or old ones are revisited, will they be there? Where have they been on this issue before the campaigns began?
Certainly it isn't because we don't have diversity among their ranks, it isn't as if Columbus hasn't had a pretty good blend of minorities for a very long time in key places of authority. But more and more that subject rises to the top with ideas being exchanged and promises that we can and will be better than the rest of the country if we elect the right people. But who are the right people? Are they the loudest ones who have discovered new talking points, or are they the ones who are really willing to get out there and work for solutions? For the record I am merely a bystander for now because I don't have the answers that will suit everyone. But neither does anyone else so I am comfortable with myself. I'll try to do more when everyone else does or when I am asked to step up by someone I can trust.
My point on all of that is this; I have played by the rules all of my life and now I am 62 years old. My generation is the largest in this country (so-called "Baby Boomers"). We hear a lot about the down trodden young families (black and white), of better relations with immigrants and of changing our views about sexual orientation, but what of the rest of us who are neither rich or poor and find it increasingly more difficult to fit in with those receiving the most attention now? The politicians come to us for support and we read their agendas about supporting gay rights, better pay for women and minorities and more jobs and better housing for people who need it and we want that too, but what they seem to forget is that people like me also struggled for many years when they and their predecessors could have done more than they did and could do more now. But they gather popular issues like Ferguson, same-sex marriage, focusing on what African Americans needs and wishes are while leaving the rest of us out. Where is a plan for us all to have the opportunities we all need and hope for? Lost somewhere between liberal and conservative thinking I suspect. All I want from here to the end is to get decent health care when I need it without going bankrupt and to be able to keep more of the money I earned over the past 50 years without being asked to invest in something I have no opinion of or something that doesn't improve my quality of life as much as it probably will others. When I came out against the last Columbus City School levy I was vilified by some for not supporting "our kids". Our present mayor strongly supported it but in the end about 70% of Columbus voters agreed with me and it went down in flames. Those of us who said "no" didn't rail against it because we don't care about kids, we read the damn proposal and how much it would cost. Then we looked at the dismal record of CCS and how much it would damage our own personal finances in the bargain, which was no bargain whatsoever! Especially for people like me who must survive on a fixed income while some of the suits who already have more than I will ever see wouldn't also be asked to anty up.
Property owners are the ones that are asked to pay for those agendas and all I ever asked was why only property owners, why not everyone? Perhaps a sales tax on goods we all buy. I found that many of the biggest supporters of that levy didn't own property and that they enthusiastically voted to raise my taxes even though they knew they wouldn't have to share the burden. Once again, I have reached the age where it doesn't matter to them if I get stuck with the bill even if I have no means of increasing my own income while they keep finding ways to earn more. That just does not set well with me and is yet another example of what I am waiting to hear from the candidates. How, or why should I vote for you if what I and hundreds of thousands of people in similar shoes never hear how you can balance fixing whatever else is wrong while not forgetting us?
My generation doesn't make a lot of noise by having rallies and parades because frankly we are too tired. We did those things nearly fifty years ago and here we are, watching the same debates over the same issues, only now we are the confused and befuddled oldsters left shaking our heads. It is no wonder so many of us have raised the white flag and surrendered to the notion that we can't change what cannot be changed unless we clean house and find people who are willing to put aside personal agendas or popular talking points and offer fresh thinking. So where is it? Where are the reasons I should vote for the most popular names and candidates who raise the most money. Once again, I am a white male who will be 63 years old before the smoke and dust of your campaigns clear in November. I am not gay and I do not support gay marriage but you have my word that I won't stand against anyone who does support it. I still believe in live and let live so don't ask me to march in parades or come to rallies for causes that have never mattered to me and please don't preach to me why the ones that don't should. I live in an area of the south end known as German Village, I have many gay neighbors and I like them all but I am not their Calvary; I won't pour any of my own energy into their cause and they all know that and I think they are fine with it, and if they are not then they have lied to me. They are as sympathetic to my issues as I am to theirs but so far none of them have asked if I would help them organize a parade or a festival seeking more attention to be paid for us seniors. And before the question can be lifted as to why I don't take the lead and start my own campaign, remember, I am old and tired and even if I did I couldn't realistically expect thousands of other tired senior citizens to want to come and party with me. That said, I also will not turn down an invitation to a cook-out in their yard this summer and they know that also. It is the same with the African American community that is just a few blocks from my home; when they have community gatherings in vacant lots I go there and they share their food and I enjoy their live music and they don't see me as some old white guy only there out of curiosity or to show my white friends anything, in fact, many of the older ones in my peer group don't understand all of the fuss others are making about race relations and we seem to share the same concerns about our health and safer neighborhoods for us as well as for families around here that we don't know.
I am often described as out of touch, I have even been called a Neanderthal Man for my way of thinking by some who just don't get it or never take the time to hear me out, but if I am either or both, know this, I have been around for a very long time and for the most part I have done okay. Hey, I am still here and regardless of who wins the upcoming elections I expect to still be around. As for the rhetoric about improving community relationships with the police; I am a retired cop who is proud of my service and I have family members who are cops and I resent the constant badgering the law enforcement community has to endure when politicians find their talking points to be on the side of those who think we're all a bunch of thugs who were never trained properly and that it is us who needs to learn new ways of doing the jobs that you expect us to do. From what I have seen and experienced the number of bad or corrupt seeds in our ranks don't even come close per ca pita wise to the numbers that exist and have existed in our neighborhoods since the beginning of time, or for that matter, among those who currently hold or who have held other public offices.
In recent days we saw a sheriff in a county to the south tried and convicted of crimes and subsequently he is done. But that's what we do, we weed out the bad seeds and move forward as we always have. There are bad seeds in all walks of life, so until we begin to name them all and suggest that everyone in every organization should be retrained anytime one of them screws up then where is the validity in the argument that cops are at the root of our problems in the streets or anywhere they are asked to be? For what it might be worth, there is no training for people who can't or aren't willing to be who we trust them to be. But I was that person, I relied on training that was in place 30 years ago to keep me and those I served safe and my personnel file from two separate agencies is a matter of public record (Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Obetz Police Department). Go look for yourself. I made a few mistakes, but none worthy of relaxing the training curriculum that has been working very well for a lot of years. Furthermore, there should never be any part of a police officer's training that teaches one to be slow to react to deadly situations or ones that could escalate to one very quickly. This past winter the law enforcement community around America was vilified and a few of you are keeping that pot stirred with campaign promises to fix whatever problems there might be in any police agency. Do that, but we're still waiting to hear how you will fix the people and the neighborhoods they live in so they won't be as inclined to misbehave. Bring them employers that will hire them and improve the schools and stop coddling the bad ones and blaming the rest of us for not doing more to understand them every time they feel an inkling to rebel.
Maybe it is unrealistic for some of you to believe that we all cannot become as liberal and forgiving as you might hope, but once again, I and many others was raised and lived in a different time than many of you; those of us who stayed alive and out of jail all of these years were able to that because we had self respect and because we had a set of values that you seem to want to change or are just different from any you understand. In other words, don't ask me to study the differences between me and others if you aren't going to ask them to also study me and try to find common ground.
By the way, that sheriff down south that went awry is one of 87 other sheriff's who aren't under any suspicions. We have a good one here and he is running for mayor. I have looked carefully at my choices for that office and I am choosing him. It just seems to make sense for me to go with a fresh set of ideas. The other three might be talking about a law enforcement system they believe needs tweaked or changed, so maybe they should all step aside and let someone professional look into it and master the plan if it is needed. As for the other races for seats on the city council I will decide among the newest faces also. The old guard has pretty much worn out its welcome so they can save the cost of postage by mailing me fancy literature and send it where it will do them the most good, to their campaign backers and others who only make decisions based on name recognition.
Peace, love....and well you get it, I'm an elder from way back.
Rick
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