Change
I was invited on Thursday to give the lunch keynote at Caltrans annual planning conference in Long Beach. Attending were transportation planners from around the State, both from government and the private sector. I asked the audience at the outset of my talk what all the presidential candidates were talking about. "Change!" was the response. "And what are the drivers of change?" I asked.
"The economy . . . global warming . . . rising population . . . immigration . . . budget crisis . . . declining home values . . . credit crunch . . . congestion" were among the responses I heard.
We are living in a time of rising anxiety -- and a clamor for change. Locally, across the State, in our nation and -- if we were paying attention -- in the larger world.
We can focus on the symptoms -- and that's easy to do. We can look for someone or something to blame . . . and that often is tempting. Or we can look for the underlying issues and long-term solutions.
If we do, I think most of us are willing to admit that our way of life is unsustainable. We've become the most powerful and richest (at least in aggregate) nation on the planet, but in so many ways we can't afford the cost of sustaining the way we've built it. And as Herb Stein, the very practical economist who advised Presidents' Nixon and Ford long ago pointed out, "That which is unsustainable has a tendency to come to a stop."
All is not gloom and doom, however. We increasingly recognize the need to change so our society doesn't end up coming to a stop. Like the dramatically titled book on the lessons learned from people who've suffered near-fatal heart attacks (Change or Die by Alan Deutchsman), we recognize the grave risk of continuing down the path we are on -- and that can motivate us to take a new path to a healthier life.
I think Ventura is a leader in seeking a new path. Our community is ready for change, although we may not always agree on what that change should be or how to achieve it. Our Ventura Vision, our efforts to curb sprawl and pursue smarter growth, and our commitment to more sustainable environmental, economic and socially equitable practices have all attracted attention from other communities seeking answers -- as we all face the concerns identified by the people in the Long Beach audience.
I was interviewed last month by the Planning Report on Ventura's approach to these issues:
http://www.planningreport.com/tpr/ ?module=displaystory&story_id=1302&format=html
I concluded on a positive note because I'm optomistic. President Kennedy kindled in young Americans a long-lasting belief that we could change the world for the better. I still believe that. I've been heartened that millions of Americans believe that too. As Senator Barack Obama, one of the presidential contenders, reminded us recently, "In the unlikely story that is America, there is nothing false about hope."
"The economy . . . global warming . . . rising population . . . immigration . . . budget crisis . . . declining home values . . . credit crunch . . . congestion" were among the responses I heard.
We are living in a time of rising anxiety -- and a clamor for change. Locally, across the State, in our nation and -- if we were paying attention -- in the larger world.
We can focus on the symptoms -- and that's easy to do. We can look for someone or something to blame . . . and that often is tempting. Or we can look for the underlying issues and long-term solutions.
If we do, I think most of us are willing to admit that our way of life is unsustainable. We've become the most powerful and richest (at least in aggregate) nation on the planet, but in so many ways we can't afford the cost of sustaining the way we've built it. And as Herb Stein, the very practical economist who advised Presidents' Nixon and Ford long ago pointed out, "That which is unsustainable has a tendency to come to a stop."
All is not gloom and doom, however. We increasingly recognize the need to change so our society doesn't end up coming to a stop. Like the dramatically titled book on the lessons learned from people who've suffered near-fatal heart attacks (Change or Die by Alan Deutchsman), we recognize the grave risk of continuing down the path we are on -- and that can motivate us to take a new path to a healthier life.
I think Ventura is a leader in seeking a new path. Our community is ready for change, although we may not always agree on what that change should be or how to achieve it. Our Ventura Vision, our efforts to curb sprawl and pursue smarter growth, and our commitment to more sustainable environmental, economic and socially equitable practices have all attracted attention from other communities seeking answers -- as we all face the concerns identified by the people in the Long Beach audience.
I was interviewed last month by the Planning Report on Ventura's approach to these issues:
http://www.planningreport.com/tpr/ ?module=displaystory&story_id=1302&format=html
I concluded on a positive note because I'm optomistic. President Kennedy kindled in young Americans a long-lasting belief that we could change the world for the better. I still believe that. I've been heartened that millions of Americans believe that too. As Senator Barack Obama, one of the presidential contenders, reminded us recently, "In the unlikely story that is America, there is nothing false about hope."
posted by Rick Cole at
6:16 AM
5 Comments:
Obama must have hope - he has nothing else, apparently - he never voted for or against any single item while an Illinois legislator -he only voted "present"
Rick,
Missed you at at least two of the State of the City addresses the Mayor spoke at last week. I hope all is well with you and your family but if so, it's a little diappointing the City Manager wasn't there. I'm hopeful there is a reasonable explanation, but you can't help but wonder if there was some underlying message shown through your absense.
You say the overriding consensous was that people want change. Your probably right. You missed the boat on what changes they really want. The most important change is the change in the people running our goverment, in the federal, the state, the county, the cities.
Rellis Smith
People do want change. I read the article you wrote at the planning meeting and you are on the right track. We do want more aggressive pursuit of smart growth. Infill downtown, increase density, preserve our greenbelt and don't develop ag lands, reduce available surface parking and charge for parking on city streets, and don't be deterred by the naysayers.
My absence at the Mayor's address is explained in my newest blog entry about my recent trip to the Middle East. I was chagrined to miss it, but I had the opportunity to use vacation time to attend a conference with my wife and family.
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