Politically Correct Beyond Words

Political Correctness is a phenomenon that increasingly reaches beyond simply neutering our language. Sadly, we now have Politically Correct toilets across the pond. Recently, British prisons, at taxpayer expense, had to remodel their restrooms so that the toilets wouldn't face Mecca. Muslim prisoners had been sitting sideways creating a number of hygienic issues for prison officials. The new toilets are now placed in a direction that no matter what business needs to be taken care of, it won't be done in the direction of Mecca. I suppose the toilets now face Washington.

This might be humorous, except that we all know what the reaction would have been if some Western sensitivity had been offended. All over the West, it's the same story as with hardly a whimper we accommodate the most frivolous demands. Political Correctness in its many manifestations weakens all Western nations. How have we arrived at this point?

What has evolved into Political Correctness has its origins in Cultural Marxism which developed after World War I. Antonio Gramsci of Italy and Georg Lucas of Hungary pioneered the idea that Western Civilization itself was the main reason for the failure of Communist revolutions. The culture itself kept the "workers" from seeing their true class interests and rising up. The trick, then, was to deconstruct the culture first and the revolution would follow.

Lucas and his ideas migrated to Germany and he become a part of a think tank called innocently enough, the Institute for Social Research. Historians now refer to this as the Frankfurt School. Here devout Marxists married their ideology with Freudian ideas which begot Critical Theory. The term Critical Theory is best described by Bill Lind as "ingenious because you're tempted to ask, "What is the theory? The theory is to criticize. The theory is that the way to bring down Western culture and the Capitalist order is not to lay down an alternative....What Critical Theory is about is simply criticizing. It calls for the most destructive criticism possible...designed to bring the current order down."

The Frankfurt School members emigrated to America with the rise of Hitler. Here a quiet academic aberration gets a new lease on life. New members Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse add the sexual liberation element and thus the finishing touches to Political Correctness. With the rise of the counter culture in the 60s it's "hey hey, ho ho, Western Culture has got to go". Yesterdays radicals made their "long march" through the universities where today they "teach" and torture future corporate executives into line. Now, Political Correctness is everywhere in the West. It's in our language, in our rewritten history textbooks and now, of course, in our toilets.

Is there a road back? It's a long difficult one where the individual Westerner confronts growing cultural amnesia. Political Correctness is the new creed of an ever increasing segment of our cultural and governing elite. The first step, however, is to "know thy enemy" and understand how this attack on our civilization came to be. In particular, if you are an American, you can start by rejecting the newest Politically Correct terms such as "United Statians" (see my blog - 9/28/07)which are attempting to move into our vocabulary. This term is particularly insidious robbing Americans of even the name by which we've been known for centuries.

Also,take the time to take a look at your children's textbooks. History books, in particular, now leave out a whole host of heroes and accomplishments that made our nations and civilization. Those who remain are subject to relentless criticism (in line with Critical Theory script) turning former heroes into villains. However, textbooks can be challenged and changed. There have been individuals who have successfully taken on school boards and won. They have been able to bring back to their school districts more balanced histories of our nations and the West.

People have passed off Political Correctness as some kind of joke but the joke has been on us. It's a very dangerous form of identity theft causing cultural amnesia and robbing us of being able to find even the words with which to defend ourselves. The very intolerant enemies of our way of life certainly aren't silent. Wake up before it's too late and we are all silenced like Theo Van Gogh.

Best Example Of The Worst

What follows is a comment by someone called "dvelcro" on my blog which you all need to think about. This is a great example of the kind of thinking that is very contrary to the interests of the citizens of any town. We can't be certain who this person is but we can sure take this case of "attitude" as a cautionary tale as our Commissioners continue work on the Town Manager's contract.

Dear concerned,
The issue at hand appears to be paragraph 2, a new contract is being negotiated.

Except it's not. I don't see any negotiation here. "Manager, sell your house (at a loss) and move to 21660 or else ..." what? We'll find someone who will move here for the sake of an at-will position at a modest wage in a small town in a rural county in the isolated hinterland of the Bo-Wash sprawl? I'd say Ridgely is over a barrel unless the town can negotiate to get what it really wants.
Residency or ownership does not equal a sense of responsibility. How many investors who own property would just as easily accomodate shady developers because their interests are in increasing the value of their investment rather than the quality of their community?
Wasting the energy groaning over gas mileage is to me a distraction from the real concern: What are the traits and actions of a manager who takes seriously the interests and concerns of the citizens he/she serves? Who is going to talk seriously about what will make Ridgely a better place at the end of 5 years than it is today?
By the way this Blogger/Google set-up is buggy, it took half an hour for it to recognize my password to send this. I will not be posting again.

New Website For Our Hometown

Look at this labor of love. The new website for Ridgely is up. Many thanks to Webmaster Arlene Hege and also Nancy Gearhart for all the work they are doing bringing Ridgley to the world. Go to: http://www.ridgelymd.org/

Citizen Blogs

Blogs are filling a gap in reporting because the mainstream media (msm) is either too politically correct or too subservient to corporate commercial interests. What passes for news is often frivolous and misses the main points concerning serious issues. Recently, in our area the msm focused on the non-issue of a "leak" of the Town Manager Contract talks at a Commissioner's open and public workshop. I suppose this was because of its human interest factor. However, the more critical issue of our town electorate effectively losing their political rights was completely ignored.

Our problem here in Ridgely isn't unique. All over the country small towns are running into problems with the town manager form of government. The national trend toward concentration of power in one (often absentee) Town Manager's hands mirrors our own. Increasingly, it is local blogs that are bringing to light these problems. This blog certainly has and will continue to play its part in trying to keep our residents in control of their town.

Somehow those of us in similar situations need to come together and share information. This is, of course, where blogs and other technologies come in. Information can be bundled together by "tags" and put all of us with similar concerns in touch with each other. Hopefully, others from around the country faced with similar challenges preserving local democracy will start blogging with us. Together we will be able to take on a problem undermining our freedom in hundreds of towns across America.

The Public's Right To Know

The contract problem has a new twist. A majority of the Commissioners now agree that the negotiations pertaining to the Town Manager's contract should be carried on during executive session. This means that we the public can't attend. Had this happened in the first place many of you in town would not even know something was wrong. Why the change all of a sudden?

Executive sessions are the place to discuss personnel problems and litigation before the town. This contract is not the kind of personnel matter that executive sessions are usually used for. Usually they're for accusations of wrongdoing or questions about job performance (which haven't been on the table). This, however, is about a contract that could RADICALLY CHANGE how our town is governed. It shouldn't be viewed like union/employer contract negotiations. It's a discussion that should be public considering this particular contract's potential impact on our way of life.

It's not even clear that the public would have a decent amount of time to review what is drawn up in an executive session before any public vote. AT MINIMUM THE PUBLIC SHOULD HAVE AN ENTIRE MONTH TO REVIEW WHAT IS TO BE VOTED ON. There is no way in the heat of the moment at a town meeting that any proposed contract can be properly reviewed and compared with the contract that came before.

Contact your Commissioners and let them know how you feel. Such an important issue needs to be kept in a public forum all steps of the way.

Newspapers, Blogs, Leaks And The Real Story

"Eyeonridgely" is right with the comment below (Contract Controversy Continued - 9/14 post) that the stories in the papers miss the main point. First, this isn't about a "leak" because there wasn't one. This blog brought to light what had been previously presented at the Commissioners' public workshop. This isn't called "leaking" but publicity. Publicity has, in this case, stopped what was about to quietly be passed. We are not out of the woods yet but heading in a better direction.

The main issue that the paper missed is that the proposed contract turns the town Charter on its head by putting the unelected and non-resident Town Manager in a stronger position than our elected and resident Commissioners. They are currently his boss and that arrangement should not change. The issues of the car and residency are important and clearly have widespread support. However, in terms of potential damage to the town, ignoring the Charter and the ordinance which created the position of Town Manager would inflict far more damage on Ridgely.

Contract Controversy Continued

So far, there have been a lot of visits but few posts on this blog. Mostly it has led to good old fashioned talks at the post office. Many are clearly concerned about the contract and have called the Commissioners about the issue. The very flawed contract that was presented at the Commissioners' workshop is now getting plenty of scrutiny and will not be passed in that form. A wake up call was needed and heeded.

There seem to be two positions on the contract. It's either "outrageous -- fire him" or "leave him alone -- what do you know about running a town?". I don't agree with either of the above. Joe has done a good job and I am proud about what we have accomplished in planning for the growth and development that has arrived at our doorsteps. He also shares a preservation ethic and realizes what a gem Ridgely is. It's a breath of fresh air, for example, to work with someone who doesn't propose demolition or removal as the only solution for old buildings or old trees in town. Not moving here and proposing such a over reaching contract has been a mistake. However, it certainly doesn't eclipse the good he has done. This can be worked out.

As for the "leave him alone" folks. I'm sorry but I guess I'm just an old fashioned American who still really believes that "We the People" govern. Of course, most of us aren't policy wonks. We do know, however, what is best for our communities. We then elect Commissioners who hire people like town managers to get the job done. It's important that no contract reverse these roles.

On this blog it has been suggested that a Charter change is needed. The current Charter doesn't even address the role of a Town Manager. I'm afraid that the questions about the role of the Manager that have come up in the past will continue to come up until a Charter change resolves the issue.

The Ridgely Town Manager's Role Defined

With the talks about the proposed contract going on, it's important to understand the role of the Commissioners and the Town Manager. Whatever contract is finally considered it must be in accordance with Ridgely law. I've pasted our town law on this below.

ARTICLE I

Manager

[Adopted 2-2-1998 by Ordinance No. 152]



37-1. Position created


The Commissioners of Ridgely hereby create the position of Town Manager and shall appoint an individual with a sincere interest in municipal government administration, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Commissioners.


37-2. Powers and duties


The Town Manager shall have such duties as shall be assigned to him or her by the Commissioners by resolution.


37-3. Compensation


The Town Manager shall be compensated for the performance of his or her duties in an amount to be fixed by the Commissioners by resolution.

Have Your Say About Your Town

Stop a very bad idea from becoming law in our town. Have your say on this blog about the proposed town manager's contract. (First, let me explain. This blog started as my work related blog on new web based 2.0 technologies. That program is now done and for the time being this blog will become a forum for the people of Ridgely.) See the blog entry below titled "Save Our Small Town Democracy". Any view is welcome but avoid profanity, personal attacks or anonymous blogging. In order to "blog", click on "comments" and then sign up with your email. Invent a password and then "blog" away. People need to talk about where our community is going.

Save Our Small Town Democracy

Increasingly the average citizen has less and less to say about the fate of their local community. Forces of economic globalization, political correctness and the growth of federal and state bureaucracies, take away more and more of the decision making ability from local citizens and their elected representatives. This trend is bad enough but becomes maddening if the citizens themselves seem more than happy to give up what little remains of their capacity for self government.

Here in Ridgely the commissioners are considering a proposed contract for the town manager that will cede much of their authority as our elected representatives to the unelected and non-resident town manager. It's a 5 year contract that makes it impossible for the commissioners to remove the town manager without buying out what remains of his contract. Such a buyout could bankrupt Ridgely. In the event the commissioners and town manager don't agree over policy, all the commissioners could do is refuse to fund whatever it is they don't want. Gridlock could be the order of business until the contract expires and a new town manager can be brought in to do their biding.

Let me say that I like our town manager and have worked with him in my position as chairman of our planning and zoning commission. I have no evidence that he is about to acquire the New London, Connecticut disease and start eminent domain proceedings against middle class housing blocks in order to redevelop those blocks into tax revenue rich upscale mansions. However, nice guy or not, no one in American government at any level deserves unchecked power. Our system of government is not built on blind trust. It's built on checks and balances to power. America has prospered throughout its history because of the institutional bulwarks that prevent too much power from being concentrated into too few hands. We are a government of "laws and not men". The proposed contract doesn't allow our elected commissioners to either "check" or "balance" the town manager and virtually puts our town government in the hands of one man.

Ironically, the whole contract issue has come up because the town manager has not relocated to Ridgely as he agreed to and is required by his current contract. The provision requiring Ridgely residency was meant to make the town manager a stakeholder in the community for which he is making so many decisions. Yet, the proposed contract is actually rewarding the town manager for not living up to his current contract.

At this point the contract is only a proposal. There has been no vote. The Commissioners haven't had more than a public discussion of some of it. I know they have questions too. Contact them and make a point of attending their meetings. They need to know that you don't agree with what has been proposed. What has been proposed should never see the light of day or be allowed to be enacted. The next meeting is Monday, September 10th, 7:00 at Town Hall.