Civility Without Change

"Civility Without Change Means Absolutely Nothing" by v.  johns

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s having to address national  political issues when I prefer to focus primarily on issues that pertain to the state of Florida and more specifically to the super region of Southeast Florida. Considering what was at stake, had Obama’s tax cut deal not have passed over the holidays, it was only prudent that I add my two cents to the jar. Whether it mattered or not remains to be seen, as no comments have been posted to confirm wider readership of this blog.

While I am indeed  biased in favor of liberal politics, policies, and prose, these days, I am by no means tethered to their ideology. My free-thinker ways will not allow me such a luxury. But at the end of the day, the bottom line is this: Either we hold our noses and work together to get things done or we don’t. As I always say to my family, friends and coworkers, I simply cannot understand how anyone can fail to put their prejudices aside long enough to make a dollar.

Though it was wrong for the Republican party to obstruct everything President Obama has tried to achieve, it was also wrong for liberals to attack Obama for not wanting to fight over details while millions of people’s lives were at stake. And regardless of all the talk of civility that the Tucson Shooting Tragedy has spawned, I hope that when it comes down to things that cannot be compromised on without risking our quality of life, such as Social Security, the liberals and House and Senate Democrats will show as much fight and zeal as they did in mistakenly attacking Obama on his attempt to secure the stability needed to move on to the next step: creating the environment needed to foster private sector job creation.

Like Obama, I despise political rigidity. Nonetheless, I agree with Ed Schultz that one has got to stand for something. This blog stands for progress. Progress done right -- not top-down progress at the expense of the once mighty American Middle Class. You can’t play “patty cake” with people who are clearly trying to undermine the dwindling good fortunes of average working people, such as myself. No rich person, king or politician on this earth is more important than the people who make their wealth, power and prestige possible. I will work these folks wherever possible, but other than that, I will fight them to the bone on what’s right and wrong.

So, for now, you can all keep your civility. I prefer real human kindness and consideration, not reactionary spin. We’ll all get true civility when it’s actually what is demanded and required in all we say and do. When we all feel deeply, thoughtfully and sincerely, that you just simply cannot be a real American without being civil. Thus, civility means nothing without actual change. You don’t believe me? Come to Southeast Florida, drive too slow on I-95 or the Turnpike, and tell me how you’re treated!

In the meantime, I don’t believe the right wingers had anything specifically to do with the unfortunate tragedy that occurred in Tucson. The man that perpetrated this selfish and egregious act was sick beyond repair. But the right wingers ARE responsible for the mean, uncaring “everyone for themselves” environment our society has embraced in recent years. And I think it’s safe to say that had anyone actually gave enough of a damn to get the killer some real help with drug abuse and fitting in, perhaps he might not have gotten sick and did what he did.

Social ostracizing is far more deadly than most people realize. And liberal types, especially New York and Hollywood liberal types, are not off the hook for helping to create a toxic environment, due primarily to their part in insisting that cosmopolitanism is all there is and that everything else is “fly-over country.” Liberal fashonistas, with their demeaning insults and put downs of people based on weight, teeth and style of dress are no better than the conservatives who hate and fear anyone or anything different than they are. But while liberals have gotten a grip and clamped down on their dangerous far-left, anti-government “loonies,” those on the right have all but unleashed their own brand of loonies on American society to acquire political gain.

As a black man, while I am well known for being damn near apologetic for other cultures, I will not sit back and let tea party racists threaten my person or demean my heritage. Black culture, at its best, is American culture and I will not allow my fleshly make and model to be used to render me, nor anyone else of color, anything other than uniquely and truly… American.

Instead of creating another blog for politics, as I had planned to do and still may, I’ve decided to keep commenting on national politics, wherever necessary, from a Florida perspective, while keeping a sharp eye out for trends in the four main areas I prefer to opine on with regards to my state’s top region: education, transportation, innovation and ethical governance. I’ve gone back and re-posted my opinion on the Gulf Oil Spill Tragedy and have stated clearly which way I lean politically, most of the time anyway, given today’s economic and political climate. And while I prefer that my blog not be about politics or race, I have noticed patterns and trends, here in Southeast Florida’s socio-economic environment, that demand the street-level clarity and perspective that I believe my writing can provide. For all those concerned, should we not address these issues, you can look forward to our state always playing second fiddle to New York, Texas and California. The result: Companies, institutions, individuals and industries that create opportunities and jobs preferring them over us. Florida, I believe, has more promise and potential, these days, than any of these other places. I hope Governor Scott realizes this and understands the enormous untapped regional power and potential of the Southeast Florida metrosphere in shaping our state and nation’s future.

As promised, I will continue to opine on issues that acutely affect Florida. In between, however, it won’t hurt to write opinions that make it clear to a more national audience that Florida is in the game, it is the future of American life, and it is poised for shaping the way Americans think and progress. And I would hope that at some point the phrase “lost paradise” will refer primarily to hidden enclaves throughout the Southeast Florida metrosphere (via photo blogging) that exemplify the phrase “best kept secret.” But for now, my job is to do all I can to help Southeast Florida become the world’s new land of big dreams and to ensure that Florida’s unspoken promise of paradise for all rings true for all who walk our shores…

Happy New Year.