Politics: Just Say What You Mean

If you've been reading since I started my blog you know of my meteoric rise to political power - my inadvertent election to the Granite, Utah Community Council.  Last night we had one of the best attended Community Council meetings ever.  I'd like to think it was because I was to be speaking - time permitting - about the Big Cottonwood Canyon Bikeway committee results.  Turns out it was about Mountain Accord.  The nutshell version of what Mountain Accord is: it's a future plan for the use of the canyons along Utah's Wasatch Front.  The plan includes development of commerce, lodging, trails and transportation.  Transportation is what brought everyone to the meeting.  The project manager of Mountain Accord came to hear public feedback about a proposed light rail line which, if found to be the most environmentally viable, could run right though the community - and literally through the front yard of our house.  So I'm not without some passion of my own.  What I found to be of most interest was the varying reactions of the people in the room.  And it's all based on a fundamental term of Economics called self-interest.  And there are as many flavors of self-interest as there are social security numbers.

Back a few weeks I started attending meetings of the Big Cottonwood Canyon Bikeway Committee.  This committee was meeting to find a solution to the bike traffic and down one of the most popular canyon cycling routes in America.  Why does there need to be a solution?  Because most of this canyon is two lanes, with little to no shoulder and bikes and cars are perpetually in conflict.  My thoughts going into the meeting were that we just needed bike lanes regardless of the impact.  Then I heard the interests of most every constituency.  It's not just about bikes and cars.  Making a bike path up the canyon impacts the stream and wildlife.  It also would require blasting away some of the prime rock climbing faces.  Bikeways are also sometimes in conflict with walkers and runners.  So there's no single solution that leaves someone better-off without leaving others worse-off. 

Knowing there are lots of impacts in decisions like this, I listened to all the speakers at last nights Community Council meeting.  It was the similar situation to the Bikeway Committee.  Of the 60 or so people in attendance there were many different interests voiced. Some said we need to not find ways to get more people up the canyon, but to limit access to the canyon.  Others said I want to be able to go up there whenver I want IN MY CAR.  Though these were the voiced interests, what was clear to me is that everyone is against a train going up the canyon.  No, that's not right, they're against a train running through our community on it's way to the canyon. THAT'S the crux of the issue.  Interestingly, no one stated that.  Almost without exception comments were about preserving the canyon.  I believe some had that interest at heart, but I think the real issue even for them was about the train running through our backyards - or in the case of Jenn and I, our front yard.  

As I observe politics, at the state, national, and worldwide level, it's the same.  It's viewed as selfish to say what we really think, and so we sandwich our political views between big fluffy slices of "in the public interest".  What do you think would happen if we just said what we mean?  Do we not want healthcare for everyone, or are we really worried about what it's going to cost us?  Do we want marriage for everyone, or do we really want equal rights for couples regardless of whether they're married or not?  Statistically about 50% of us find at some point, we don't want marriage at all. Do we really need assault rifles, or do we just want to still be able to hunt or go shoot at targets? And if it is to protect your home and family, how much fire power do you need?  Do we really need additional bike lanes, or do we need to do a better job of sharing the road?  Because even the cyclists couldn't agree on what they wanted.  Do we really care if there's a train in the canyon, or do we not want it running through our neighborhood?  Because, hey, there's a road up there anyway and we all got used to that 100 years ago.  Even the wildlife adapted.  I think if we say what it is we really want from our public policy decisions, we might come up with better public policy.