I don't know about you, but I get a kick out of reading the comments at
journalstar.com. Sometimes they are witty, sometimes depressing, and sometimes hilarious (often accidentally). "Lee Baugh"
left a comment last night that caught my eye regarding the proposed arena and convention center:
Who cares about public participation? Lets be honest, do you really want the lowest common denominator making decisions that could very well determine the future of our City? The average citizen in this town cares more about who the next football coach will be or what Britney Spears is up to, and comparatively nothing about economic development, economic multipliers, tax incentives and tax breaks for investors. If we listened to the majority of voters, we'd still be picking up the pieces from the one term Al Gore presidency. I think the sensible among us can see the fallacy in following the majority. I, for one, trust the business community and the investors in this community to make the best choices when it comes to business and investment issues. The rest of you can have your say when it comes to issues you actually have expertise in, like flipping burgers or greeting consumers at Wal Mart. Investors, shareholders, and the self employed are the real heroes in a capitalist society like the USA. To be against this project is un-American. If you don't like it, move to Massachusetts.
There's a lot going on in there, all of it worthy of discussion. Some of his points make for pretty good debate fodder. For example,
do we really want "the lowest common denominator" helping to make decisions? It's an inflammatory question, sure, but an intriguing one if you're willing to dig into it. And he is right that most voters -- even those not among the group Mr. Baugh labels "the lowest common denominator" -- are ignorant of many important topics. He also leaves plenty of room for ridicule. Being against the arena is "un-American"? Who knew?
At least he thinks I'm a "real hero". That makes me feel good about myself.
So have at it, folks. What does Mr. Baugh get right, and where does he miss the mark?