I'm very here for analogies. I'm shit at them in my mind. But other people? Amazing. Michelle Wu. You got my vote boo.
I am of the belief that the current political structure is BS. I think it's faker than professional wrestling. These two parties work together to create a monopoly, drawing the line splitting issues and topics and then watching them play out against one another in their very own Super Bowl. I find this backwards and stupid. In no other arena would you be wholly dependent on these two parties without questioning the structure of the party, the purpose of the party. Basically I think we act like baseball does about issues pertaining to the Democrats and Republicans and just chalk it up to one of the worse words in the English language: tradition. Now that you've gotten my two cents, here's Michelle Wu--an at-large Boston city councilor--giving her three cents. "Want to fix our broken democracy? Have a block party" Basically, Michelle says when people are thinking of these hot button issues like immigration or abortion they are acting alone and out of a lack of trust. This distrust comes from not being able to anticipate other people. And instead of viewing this simply in the macro sense it's actually very micro. You don't know your neighbors. From her op-ed in the Boston Globe, "Forty years ago, 1 out of 3 Americans spent time with their neighbors at least twice a week. Today 4 out of 5 people don't see their neighbors regularly, and one third don't interact with any neighbors at all." Now a certain someone already told you about social media and that's part of it for sure but the absence of block parties really does feel significant. I grew up with them in the Weequahic section. Looked forward to them as a kid to ride my bike down the street without having to look out for cars, to go in anyone's backyard for food, just seeing everyone on the block happy and festive. In fact, I'd honestly say that did a lot for the community in the Weequahic section. That helped everyone to get to know who their neighbors were and through that those people became part of your extended family. I'd also guess that this is where that phrase 'It takes a village to raise a child' might have come from. Not only did we have block parties (and go to neighboring streets block parties (I see you Pomona and Weequahic Ave) but the Weequahic section itself used to throw a festival down Bergen Street in the summer with music and food. That was my childhood and that's why I'm so fond of where I grew up despite well Newark being Newark. I wouldn't have been able to express it so eloquently, so effortlessly but this is the fix. People getting to know their neighbors. People getting to know the stories of the people they judge from afar on the nightly news. This puts a face to topics like immigration and abortions. Not so much that those are things you learn about your neighbors at block parties lol but maybe you think twice about those topics knowing people outside of your typical comfort zone. Politics aren't black and white (which speaking of analogies and phrases that one is the absolute worst). Yet that's exactly what the two party system wants you to think. They want to ask you a question and have you answer and that answer is where you fall on the matter. That answer dictates who you vote for. But the world is very much a shade--multiple in fact--of gray. It's nuanced and complex. Just like people are. And so maybe you aren't having attending a block party soon (you should) but maybe try striking up a conversation with your neighbor, it might help you feel attached to the place you live and feel happier about mankind in the process. Maybe. Comments are closed.
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Ty FosterQuestion everything. WQHC Archives
June 2020
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