Just an observation on the lack of civility in this one-party town.

 You know, I've lived in this town for a long time and it's disconcerting to watch the lack of civility we have when dealing with each other.

Now, a lot of this has to do with having a one-party political rule over this town for years. You can always count on the internal power struggles within the only party in town to stir things up every election cycle and try and pit people against people.

Politics in its simplest form is just dealing with people. How our elected people deal with other elected people and the public and how the public deals with our elected people and with each other.

Some elected people are good at this and some are not so good. Unfortunately, you see a lot of voices raised in arguments when raising the level of the argument would, instead - be more effective.

You see people who don't quite grasp that how you speak to someone is more important than what you say.

You see a lot of elected officials being long on rhetoric and short on facts and making ridiculous promises just to get elected and people treating this as normal.

You see a lot of hypocrisy with our elected officials because its always about movement within the only party in town and it doesn't matter what you think.

If you pay attention, what people do is more important that what they say. Actions are the best indication of what someone wants. Listen to everything said and then watch what they do.

You always hear that 'We can agree to disagree' but that only works when there are at least two viable alternatives - absent that, somebody is just wrong.

People treat others with disrespect just because they don't agree or share the same political beliefs. What's wrong with respecting everyone's beliefs, whether you agree with it or not?

I'm just an old dude who believes respect is important and everyone's opinion is important, whether you agree with it or not. That's why the open and free exchange of ideas is so important. The best decisions will always come from differing opinions.

You won't always get that in a one-party town like ours. You'll only get to know what they want you to know and only when they want you to know it. It's called lack of transparency in this one-party oligarchy when there are no checks and balances to say otherwise.

So, what's the point of all this?

It's simple. I always make it a point to say Hello to everyone I know when I see them, whether we're friends or not, whether we have different political views or support the same people or issues or not. It's called being polite.

Now, toward that end, I did something I don't usually do anymore in this town. I went to two Dem-party political thingies. One, a swearing in for the newly elected, and the other a Council meeting. The first because I made a promise to one of the elected and the second because I wanted to witness a vote in person.

Recognizing that I'm not the most popular person in those rooms - but I can count on one finger the number of elected officials and those from the public that I know who would even offer a Hello. 

Now, trust me on this, I'm not complaining or even care -  just want to show you the type of civility that exists in this town.

Anyhoo, try and be polite to each other and don't get caught up in the internal power struggles of the party that made Edison Safe for Hypocrisy which encourages neighbors to go against neighbors - in the end, all you'll be exchanging is one Dem for another Dem.