Category: Exploring Social and Political Issues

The Nitty-Gritty of Progress

When we were recently in Australia, we found trolley cars and buses with a feature I hadn't seen before. The side of the bus was lowered to accomodate wheelchairs and those who can't walk up stairs, much like this trolley on the right.

This reminded me of when Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California and Garrison Keillor wrote a commentary in TIME magazine, August 25, 2003, titled, "Hey, Arnold! This is Serious Stuff." His point was that politics is a process engaged in by men and women who genuinely like people and want to do good things on their behalf. It is not a glamorous or easy route to follow, but these people are willing to sit through the nitty-gritty of what are often boring meetings in order to find compromises in which progress is made.

Through this effort, Keillor said, something as simple as ramps at the curbs of street corners can become possible (as well as accomodating buses). To accomplish that, he notes that people had to listen to others, say their piece, and be civil about it. Because of the willingness of people to slog through the hard work, the handicapped in wheelchairs, parents with strollers and kids riding bikes have an easier time getting around and life is a little easier and more friendly.

In the article he points out that "government works through small, incremental changes, and action heroes are much too high and mighty to take notice of these or other small details, but the changes are real, and in the end, we prefer government to heroism."