Just draw up a proposal of what you envision for New Albany and present it to the City Fathers and fight for the adoption of the proposal. Stop talking and Just Do It!
The preceding is a comment that was appended to yesterday’s posting about attitudes toward bicycling in New Albany. The comment comes from a friend, so it is far from a trognonymous jab from behind the hedge. Emphatically, my repeating it in this context should not be construed as a provocation of any sort. Rather, I’d like to use it as a starting point to ask a question.
Isn’t "just do it" precisely what is being done?
From my perspective, we’ve all but gone blind “envisioning” New Albany, and amid a prevailing "banana republic" atmosphere of timidity, unresponsiveness and irrationality, “just do it” would seem to have become the active mantra of a small and growing band of entrepreneurs, investors, activists and consumers. Their collective strength seems to be growing by the day, and overall, we’re grinding forward and making progress in dragging the city, albeit kicking and screaming, into the 20th century.
(Yes, I know. Suffice to say we were a bit behind the curve, and still are, but things are better than they were three years ago … aren’t they? I believe they are better, because at least now, we can see some movement)
But enough from me. Readers, what do you think? In practical terms, what can be done to assist the "just do it" mentality?
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4 comments:
For my money, "just doing it" means taking advantage of our undervalued real estate and awesome historic buildings, all nicely arranged in a new urbanist fantasy, by purchasing and renovating these buildings. I'm doing one and wish I had the resources to do more, but I will when this one is done.
Use what ever means at your disposal to attract attention to your "project" and stay on it with dogged determination, see it through to the end. If you do not get the results that are needed, keep churning, it wont be long until the round of elections. (which is the weak point for ALL politicians), hit em hard and fast in the weeks leading up to the election!
Absolutely, Gina.
For my money, by using bully pulpits such as this blog, not to mention innumerable personal contacts and discussion sessions, are we not doing more than talking? Are we not making the case on a daily basis for progress, not regress? Every person who is taking time from his or her normal routine to learn more about the way things work -- and the way they might work -- is "just doing it," too.
Granted, there's been some stumbling in the political realm. Perhaps we'll learn lessons from that, and perhaps not, but what I'm seeing is people forging ahead with things like your remodeling project, fighting it out against the slumlords and other retrograde presences, and following somewhat the same path forward even if each and every one doesn't exactly agree why (thanks, "B").
A do-nothing political culture of apathy and idiocy? I believe we're simply going around their roadblocks prior to finally understanding how to un-elect them.
I might amend Roger's comment to say that's it more than a "do-nothing political culture of apathy and idiocy" but a general culture of such, as reflected in the political realm. I trust if we keep fighting the political realm will eventually look more like us in time. I think the "first-round" of change, with individuals slogging it out to neighborhood orgs finding their voice, to finally the city hall evolving into a can-do move forward ideal. Let's none of us falter in our resolve cause we will see significant change in the next 5 years.
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