The fact that I’ve just gotten to this article after more than a month on the coffee table is sad testimony to the absence of reading time of late.
That having been said, this article from the New York Times Magazine is one of the better treatments I’ve seen lately that address the space/time deficiencies of our local branch of the Democratic Party. Granted, the author intends the analysis to apply on a national scale, but he couldn’t have done a better job of describing Floyd County demos, some of whom occupy seats on the city council and yet can’t be reached by e-mail.
Dudes … it’s 2008. That whole flat earth thing is sooo over. Here are two excerpts; follow the link for the complete article.
Idea Lab: Network Nation, by Dalton Conley (New York Times Magazine, June 22, 2008).
The chatter these days is that the Republicans are a party that has run out of ideas. The Soviet Union is long gone; welfare has been reformed; market logics have permeated almost every aspect of our lives (eBay, anyone?). The truth is that the triumph of conservative ideas may present a political problem for the ailing Republicans, but the party that’s truly lacking in new ideas is my own, the resurgent Democrats ...
... It’s not surprising that the private-sector, new-economy companies are ahead of government in adapting to the networked society, but if progressives want a victory in the world of ideas and policy — and not just a couple of good election cycles — they are going to have to stop talking F.D.R, J.F.K. and L.B.J. and start thinking eBay, Google and Wiki.
I honestly feel that every single elected official should have a city domain email address. The same could be said for the heads of all city departments.
ReplyDeleteEmail is fast, efficient, etc. A citizen can contact the proper representative whether is is 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning.
Only downfall to this is email badgering everytime someones dog barks.