Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 9. Sunrise is 7:15 and sunset is 5:00 for 9 hours 45 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 54.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater School Board meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1962, Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles.
For many years, until the beginning of the last decade, Whitewater was mostly a center-right town. For the special-interest men who dominated community development, and found any number of operatives and catspaws to stack on the Whitewater Common Council, this political orientation probably seemed like the natural order of the universe. Their outward profession of faith was boosterism, and their inner belief was personal entitlement. A small and beautiful city run like a company town, or closer still to the truth, run like a company store.
Readers have sometimes written to ask why I did not concentrate on the special-interest men from FREE WHITEWATER‘s beginnings in 2007. I’ve two answers. First, there was a worse problem back then. Second, I did not believe that any normal community would continue to pay much attention to that ilk.
(Note well: When I described members of that clique as town squires, etc., it was not because I was envious — it was because I thought they were ridiculous. It seemed reasonable that they’d fade on their own.)
And yet, time erodes all, including the plans of these now-aged men. The city’s demographic has changed (from a preponderance of residents of longstanding families to one of newer residents, by ideology, and by ethnicity.) These older cronies and entitled types are still around, but others have come forward, a bit younger and often with a different partisan ideology. They’ve grown tired of listening to, and being under the control of, a few entitled Boomers. Whitewater understandably deserves more than an American version of the British aristocracy, where the Duke of Cadbury or the Viscount of Yorkshire Pudding dominates politics for life.
(Again, an aside: While it’s certain that I don’t support yesterday’s tired special-interest men, and Whitewater will be better off when they stop obstructing possibilities, I am not a member of any faction in this city. If that’s not obvious, then nothing is. My tenets are my faction — of policy in this city I neither need nor want more. Actually, of policy in this city, no one needs more than his or her unselfish convictions, steadfastly held. This is the true high ground, the good ground on which to fight, being both right and formidable. Family, friends, and cats are private matters, not policy ones. Those who hold to their own unselfish tenets will find that, in fact, family, friends, and cats will respect them all the more for it.)
So, what’s all this about tactical emulation? New people, new factions, new ideas have — and should — come along to uplift this city. What a terrible waste it would be for residents who offer new and better to adopt the tactics of old and worse. Good ideas for this city, advanced with yesteryear’s bad tactics, are not primarily good ideas — they’re primarily bad tactics. The corruption of an action (using corruption as the Ancients would have, as the rejection of the common good in service of a private advantage) indelibly taints a policy or program.
Along will come an act utilitarian who will insist he’s simply looking for the greatest good for the greatest number, only to injure others for his defined good. Later will come along a rules-based utilitarian who insists he’s rules-based, and would not step on anyone based on his rules, except in this one case right now where he has to make an exception…
No and no again.
New ideas and new people should not, and if they are to advance this city’s betterment must not, emulate yesterday’s old tactics.