Rowhouse Logic - Breathtaking Inanity

I Just wanted to riff a little on the Young Philly Politics post I linked to earlier. One of the things you quickly become aware of, if you try to run a political site like this, is that discussing local politics is a bit like passing gas in an enclosed area — people run away and they may never come back.

That’s an unfortunate, if understandable, reaction. Most Americans will never have their lives effected as profoundly by national policy as they will by local policy, but at the same time they generally find local politics deadly boring. I would guess that most people’s interaction with government workers in this country is generally limited to encounters with police officers, public school teachers, and sanitation workers. They all serve functions which are vital to our society, and each is impacted by both federal, state, and local policy, though local is generally the overriding factor in both funding and policy.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m just as worked up about federal judicial appointments as anybody, and it’s a fight that must be engaged vigorously from the liberal side. The thing is, the election of something so unsexy as the District Attorney in one of our country’s largest cities is really a very big deal. The person elected to this post is empowered with a great deal of responsibility and power; their jurisdiction covers well over one million people directly and will, in reality, impact the lives of many millions more. That person’s responsibilities involve the protection of so many of the rights that we, as Americans, hold very close to our hearts. We have to make an informed, responsible choice. That is our duty as voters, and that’s why it’s so important to talk about, and become involved in local politics, regardless of the political sex appeal.

Chris Bowers asked last week for guesses as to why Philadelphia is so well represented in the lefty political blogosphere. I’m sure I’m not qualified to answer, but I’ll give it a stab nevertheless. I think we live in a place where the full potential of the United States is plain for all but the jaded to see, but the obvious exclusion from that very potential, which effects so many of our people confronts us as soon as we walk off our front stoops. I don’t know that I can explain this place or this time as anything, other than to hint at the unsung capacity for greatness as a community and city which exists here in the midst of great human suffering. I know that I can’t explain people who live here, regardless of political leanings, who do not care. The political process is very real here.

Forgive the mindless ramblings - I meant to write and revise more, but my wife insists I figure out what to do about dinner.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2005 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Philadelphia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.