Saturday, November 5, 2011

Redistricting was Wrong, and Demands a Protest

As redistricting fades weeks into the past, we might wonder if the moment has passed, if we are just going to say, "Oh, Well,' and move along.

As if no wrong has happened..

And, is there a wrong?

Is it wrong to spend $1 million for public input, then to set it aside and slip behind closed doors, the public barred from even listening in on the most influential part of the process?

Is that not wrong?

Is it wrong to for state legislators to draw their own districts? Is it wrong if they set aside the best districting that can be done for the public, and instead draw the lines to best ensure their own reelections, the good of the politicians trumping the good of the people?

Is that not wrong?

Is it not wrong to draw the lines to advance political careers? Do we say, this is not about serving the public, but about serving the favored politicians?

Is that not wrong?

Is it wrong to serve your own political party, drawing the lines for its advantage, instead of weighing only what lines will best serve the public?

Is that not wrong?

If a map ean be drawn that is best for the public, but you change it up to serve the politician, that is wrong. Politics should have been the last consideration when those lines were drawn.

So, if these things are wrong, are we to sit idly by? Are we to say, "They've already done it now, and weeks have past," and shuffle along?

They won't go back and do it right unless we tell them to, unless we protest. Oh, there might not be enough people who will protest to make any difference at all, but it does so surely seem a protest ought to be organized to at least give people the option of expressing their displeasure.

For Edmund Burke was right. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." If we continue to sit and do nothing, the wrongs will prevail. It will be too late, and the moment will pass.

The bills can be revisited. They can be changed. At the moment, it is not too late. This can, yet, be corrected. The process is as important as the product, and we should demand they go back and carry out the process correctly.

Oh, and a protest will be set, either for Saturday, Nov. 12 or for Saturday, Nov. 19,  noon, at the Capitol. If these things do matter to you, do attend. Your being there will make a difference.

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