You are correct in that Congresswoman Schakowsky isn’t responsible for D65. I do believe that she does “care.”
It’s a complicated problem, but it may boil down to the feeling many of her constituents have (probably more than you realize) that the quality of their lives are deteriorating. Yes, we care about democracy, women’s rig…
You are correct in that Congresswoman Schakowsky isn’t responsible for D65. I do believe that she does “care.”
It’s a complicated problem, but it may boil down to the feeling many of her constituents have (probably more than you realize) that the quality of their lives are deteriorating. Yes, we care about democracy, women’s rights, equity and being a welcoming community. But it’s
the daily indignities that grind down the quality of life here. Below I offer two examples of many.
Public transportation in Evanston and the region is a mess. Have you been on the Red Line lately? When you sit among the urine, pot smokers and trash hoping not to be mugged just to get to work, you wonder if the leaders rallying you to “protect democracy” could just get the friggin’ train you take to work halfway decent, too? Not to mention that the poor rely on public transportation more than other economic groups. When you used to take your kids to the neighborhood Grey Park to play but don’t anymore because of the drug dealing, harassment, and public safety fears, it doesn’t feel like restoring DEI preferences is at the top of your wish list.
You can say for each of these situations, it’s not entirely the fault of the Congresswoman. It’s not entirely the fault of Representative Gabel, Senator Fine or Mayor Biss. But they are collectively our leaders. Who does have the responsibility to improve nagging everyday quality of life problems if not the people we elect? And why should we believe they’ll fix the big problems when the “little” ones just seem to get bigger?
I am a lifelong Democrat. I’ll continue to be a Democrat. But I increasingly feel that my party is out of touch with how people actually feel. And when they express those feelings, they are shamed about not seeing the “big picture.” Or, that’s “another office.”
One final tangent. I can’t escape the nagging suspicion that if Bessie Rhodes was closed by a group of white Republicans, the Congresswoman would have been out marching with Bessie Rhodes families.
I wish I could pin this comment. Thank you for saying this, I couldn't agree more. We have City Council elections coming up and I think this needs to be part of the theme of my conversations with them.
Christian,
You are correct in that Congresswoman Schakowsky isn’t responsible for D65. I do believe that she does “care.”
It’s a complicated problem, but it may boil down to the feeling many of her constituents have (probably more than you realize) that the quality of their lives are deteriorating. Yes, we care about democracy, women’s rights, equity and being a welcoming community. But it’s
the daily indignities that grind down the quality of life here. Below I offer two examples of many.
Public transportation in Evanston and the region is a mess. Have you been on the Red Line lately? When you sit among the urine, pot smokers and trash hoping not to be mugged just to get to work, you wonder if the leaders rallying you to “protect democracy” could just get the friggin’ train you take to work halfway decent, too? Not to mention that the poor rely on public transportation more than other economic groups. When you used to take your kids to the neighborhood Grey Park to play but don’t anymore because of the drug dealing, harassment, and public safety fears, it doesn’t feel like restoring DEI preferences is at the top of your wish list.
You can say for each of these situations, it’s not entirely the fault of the Congresswoman. It’s not entirely the fault of Representative Gabel, Senator Fine or Mayor Biss. But they are collectively our leaders. Who does have the responsibility to improve nagging everyday quality of life problems if not the people we elect? And why should we believe they’ll fix the big problems when the “little” ones just seem to get bigger?
I am a lifelong Democrat. I’ll continue to be a Democrat. But I increasingly feel that my party is out of touch with how people actually feel. And when they express those feelings, they are shamed about not seeing the “big picture.” Or, that’s “another office.”
One final tangent. I can’t escape the nagging suspicion that if Bessie Rhodes was closed by a group of white Republicans, the Congresswoman would have been out marching with Bessie Rhodes families.
I wish I could pin this comment. Thank you for saying this, I couldn't agree more. We have City Council elections coming up and I think this needs to be part of the theme of my conversations with them.