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FROM THE MARGINS | BY PATRICK AZADIAN
Los Angeles Times Valley Edition | Glendale News-Press | February 10 2007

More winners than just the politicians

Politics. How did it become a dirty word? And how did most politicians lose the respect of the electorate?

Without going into historical analysis, I am going to take a guess.

It is not unusual to see politicians running for office taking the most expedient path to their goal. It rarely happens that a candidate's goal is a vision for the community, and that election to an office is a means to achieve this vision. Election to the office has become an end in itself, or better yet (or worse), a stepping-stone.

As the immediate goal is winning elections, candidates often find common denominators among all voters and make that their shallow campaign platform. It is also not uncommon to see candidates making unrealistic promises to different sets of audiences.

As in everything else in life, actions have consequences. And the consequence of such short-sighted tactics is the avoidance of important and complex issues and the instillment of apathy among voters.

It would be too pompous to think in Glendale we can tweak western democracy for the better, but good things come in small packages. And if we can be a model, who knows what could happen in Burbank.

We should not fool ourselves. As residents, we all have our immediate interests, but the ability to look beyond our backyards and being able to compromise is what will truly make us a community.

Let's look at a few issues.

If I am a father of two living in a small apartment in the south of the city, working as a taxi driver during the day and a handyman at night, do I really care about saving the environment up in the hills? I don't think I'd be getting up at 5 a.m. every morning and think, "Hmm... Are we doing enough to save those trees up in the hills?"

Soil erosion and desertification will not be on the top of my priority list. But I should care. I may not benefit from the immediate effects of keeping the environment green, but my children will.

If I would like to build a three-story house in the hills, should I care about blocking the view of my neighbors or being incompatible with what's already out there? I may or may not, depending on my worldview. But I really should care, and I should give this some thought before I try to change the laws to benefit my own interests. If I am going to make this area my home, I should care about my neighbors, as they should care about me.

If no one in my family speaks English with a detectable accent, should I really care about English as a Second Language classes or vocational training being offered at the local college? Again, that would probably not be on the top of my list, but I should care.

How else can we incorporate first-generation Americans into our society without the proper English and job skills? History teaches us that unless we help the less fortunate climb up the ladder of success, everyone pays a price.

If I have a higher education, should I care about young people dropping out at the local college? I probably won't think about this on a daily basis, but I should. I should think about what the dropouts of today will become tomorrow and how they will effect the face of our city.

If my backyard is the size of a park, should I care about the availability of public parks throughout the city? I should. One of the best antidotes for addiction to drugs is getting kids hooked on sports at a young age. It does not take a social scientist to know by providing the right type of activities for kids, we can save ourselves (and our Police Department) headaches in the future.

If we want to avoid Balkanization of our city and call ourselves a true community, we need to be able to empathize with the needs of our neighbors.

This does not mean that everyone is going to get what they want, but it's a good beginning to realize that many of the issues facing our city are complex.

It is not productive to take our own narrow interests and dress them up as "community interests," and then feed them to the candidates and the electorate. It is also not fair to slap whatever issues we are opposed to as "special interest group" in an effort to defeat them.

Let's make sure when the champagne is poppin' after the elections, there are more winners than just the newly elected officials.

Copyright 2007 Glendale News Press