“In politics, an absurdity is not a handicap”
-- Napoleon
Bonaparte
Napoleon’s statement rings
true as we witness the series of absurdities that are taking place in Texas
today. Take a few minutes to read about
how Texas politicians are prepared to radically change your quality of life.
Legislative Theft: While the
Declaration of Independence guaranteed our right to the pursuit of life,
liberty and happiness, Texas legislators apparently see no problem in eliminating
this right by supporting legislation that will remove the power of Texas cities
to limit the expansion of fracking activities in their communities. Research
studies have confirmed the association of fracking activities with earthquakes,
their negative impact on roads and highways, contamination of our air quality and
water supply, and harmful negative effects to people who are exposed to the dangerous
chemicals used in fracking operations. In addition, many areas in Texas are experiencing
severe draught while water shortages and restrictions have become commonplace. Despite this, our lawmakers see no problem in
allowing the oil and gas industry to continue their fracking activities which
consume millions of gallons of water and are rapidly depleting our scare water
resources. This appears to be promoting the pursuit of misery, not happiness.
The New Western World: Thousands of lives are lost to gun violence
each year. Rather than limit the spread of arms, Texas legislators are
supporting the open-carry law which promises to greatly expand the number of
residents that carry guns in public. Women
are often the victims of domestic and gun violence, while national coverage of
questionable police shootings show that Hispanics and African Americans are
increasingly the victims of trained law enforcement officials that
feared for their own safety. Any guess about who will be the likely targets of
gun violence by the mostly untrained gun carriers in Texas? Rather than seek a peaceful resolution of
conflicts, Texans may find it more convenient to resolve their conflicts with
guns at the slightest provocation to their personal safety.
Mixed Priorities: Politicians like Mayor Rawlings continue to
advocate for the construction of expensive toll roads to alleviate
transportation problems, despite the absence of community support for such
high-ticket investments and evidence that such solutions can also increase
traffic congestion. Such “monuments” can
glorify the legacy of a politician’s career but may serve no useful purpose to
a community. With the third highest
poverty rate in the U.S. and deteriorating streets that require an estimated
$900 million to repair, Mayor Rawlings needs to get his priorities aligned with
the desires of Dallas City residents and spend less attention to glorifying his
legacy as mayor.
Dictating Election Outcomes: Strong leaders are needed in many
communities, and many centers of leadership excellence have evolved to address
this need. It seems a contradiction,
however, for media organizations like the Dallas Morning News to use the power of their influence
to discourage voter participation in local elections by declaring repeatedly in
their campaign coverage that these aspiring leaders have no chance of being
elected. The DMN has spared no effort to glamorize the candidacy of Mayor Mike
Rawlings in their news stories, while also describing challenger Marcos
Ronquillo as a “long shot” with minimal visibility. Do we really need the DMN to dictate the
mayoral election outcome, and also tell us that the Hispanic community has a
short supply of leaders? Moreover, how much trust can we place on polls
sponsored by a news organization with such biased viewpoints? The DMN does the
best job when reporting the news, not in creating news that is misleading and
biased.
It is lamentable that Texans have grown
accustomed to accepting the absurdities that politicians present to us, even
when they are clearly harmful to our quality of life. Such absurdities are made
more believable by the biased news stories that we read on a daily basis, and reports
of substantial campaign contributions from business interests – often the only
metrics by which successful campaigns are judged. Texas residents need to improve their
political and environmental intelligence by becoming more informed about the
destructive programs and policies that are being supported by our lawmakers,
protesting these policies, and forming organized efforts to remove lawmakers
who are indifferent to our quality of life in Texas.
Lawmakers that continue to
support public policies that destroy the quality of life in our communities
have lost their moral compass, opting instead to reward their campaign
contributors and extend their political careers. Texans should not be forced to
be the sacrificial lambs, and our children should not be required to inherit
the consequences of these absurd decisions
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