Tilting at windmills
I could have gone to an awards ceremony for Atlanta's professional theatres Monday night. Atlanta's version of the Tony's. With my wife representing Academy Theatre, she was dressed up and looking gorgeous, and she had two tickets, which included food and drink tickets for the bar. She went, and she brought a friend, and she had a marvelous time.
I must be some sort of glutton for punishment.
I went instead to go watch the Fayette County Board of Education steamroll over the objections of citizens, neighbors, experts, and even the government of Peachtree City.
I went knowing that they were not going to listen to any more public input. I went knowing that their reasons and excuses were empty and full of contradictions. I went knowing that the only thing I would be able to do would be to stare them down.
I sat through nearly an hour and 45 minutes of presentations. A presentation on the CCRPI indicators.(Summary: Even Fayette's "bad" schools are looking good, and better every year.) A presentation on how the transportation department teaches kids not to run in front of school buses. (Did you know that they have a professional puppeteer on staff?) Presentations from Whitewater High School, and the elementary and middle schools that feed into it.
The very last thing, with very little discussion, was the vote on Booth. Everyone on that board knew how they were going to vote before they got there. The fix was in, as everyone knew months ago.
I must be nuts. I could have been at a gala event. (I'm sure my friend Michael is having a good chuckle over this.)
But if I don't speak out about these things, it will drive me up the wall. Even knowing that "the fix is in", if I act like the fix is in, then that's surrender. Silence doesn't mean consent, but it can be mistaken for it.
And if I shout long enough, hopefully I'll find out who will shout with me. I'll find out who's listening. Then, maybe we can do something.
If you're little, you can do a lot! You mustn't let a little thing like little stop you! If you sit around and let them stay on top, you won't change a thing! Just because you find that life's not fair, it doesn't mean that you just have to sit and bear it! If you always take it on the chin and wear it, you might as well be saying, you think that it's okay. And that's not right!
Barry Marchman, Scott Hollowell, and Brian Anderson are all up for re-election. Marchman is the only board member who has consistently stood against the Board's runaway spending train. We need challengers to the other two.
I must be some sort of glutton for punishment.
I went instead to go watch the Fayette County Board of Education steamroll over the objections of citizens, neighbors, experts, and even the government of Peachtree City.
I went knowing that they were not going to listen to any more public input. I went knowing that their reasons and excuses were empty and full of contradictions. I went knowing that the only thing I would be able to do would be to stare them down.
I sat through nearly an hour and 45 minutes of presentations. A presentation on the CCRPI indicators.(Summary: Even Fayette's "bad" schools are looking good, and better every year.) A presentation on how the transportation department teaches kids not to run in front of school buses. (Did you know that they have a professional puppeteer on staff?) Presentations from Whitewater High School, and the elementary and middle schools that feed into it.
The very last thing, with very little discussion, was the vote on Booth. Everyone on that board knew how they were going to vote before they got there. The fix was in, as everyone knew months ago.
I must be nuts. I could have been at a gala event. (I'm sure my friend Michael is having a good chuckle over this.)
But if I don't speak out about these things, it will drive me up the wall. Even knowing that "the fix is in", if I act like the fix is in, then that's surrender. Silence doesn't mean consent, but it can be mistaken for it.
And if I shout long enough, hopefully I'll find out who will shout with me. I'll find out who's listening. Then, maybe we can do something.
If you're little, you can do a lot! You mustn't let a little thing like little stop you! If you sit around and let them stay on top, you won't change a thing! Just because you find that life's not fair, it doesn't mean that you just have to sit and bear it! If you always take it on the chin and wear it, you might as well be saying, you think that it's okay. And that's not right!
Barry Marchman, Scott Hollowell, and Brian Anderson are all up for re-election. Marchman is the only board member who has consistently stood against the Board's runaway spending train. We need challengers to the other two.
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