Doing the Right Thing
Though the Nation-States, especially in the Mid East, seem incapable of forming civil societies, at the local level government sometimes does the right thing. President Obama, Gov. Jay Nixon, and especially state trooper Ron Johnson instituted civility in Ferguson, Missouri last night. Johnson walked among his neighbors. One wonders if Mayor Berry of Albuquerque and Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico might consider walking among the denizens of the Duke City in an effort to address the populist anger directed at police madness?
It seems so simple for government to acknowledge and implement the obvious. A column in The Taos News by the president of the Farmer’s Market (from Jaroso, Colo. btw) praised the relocation of the Farmer’s Market to the Plaza and singled out Town Manager Bellis for his steadfast support. While we know some merchants on the Plaza still oppose this “astounding experiment in doing the right thing,” we beg them to be patient. Eventually, problems, like where the tour bus deposits visitors on Saturday, can be solved. It doesn’t hurt anybody to walk a block or two: as Ed Abbey maintained, walking, not driving, is the key to experiencing the sights and sounds of nature and society.
During the last few days, I’ve been driving around town early in the morning. The Town looks cared for. You can see the cracks and mottles better when the streets are swept and the flowers are watered. Several cross walks have been repainted. Somebody at Town Hall has lowered the profile of the meter minders: we don’t see as much of the men in black’n blue ticketing the cars parked in the historic zone. By implementing the nuts and bolts of local government, the Mayor, Manager, and street crews deserve praise. Similarly, the Chamber of Commerce’s Thursday Night Plaza Live is lively thanks to the volunteers who show up to banner up and set up chairs every Thursday night. Some folks do care.
Next week on Tuesday, Aug. 19, unless the agenda changes, the Taos County Commission will discuss the implementation of tentative plans for the Old County Courthouse (OCC). Interested parties should show up at the Complex on Albright St. to discuss short term and long-term goals. What a difference an elevator, public bathrooms, and some new plumbing could make. Singer Mary Gautier will be in concert at the Mural Room in the Old County Courthouse on Saturday night, thanks to promoter “Mattress Mary.”
Special Pleading: This fall, beginning Wed. Sept. 17, at the University of New Mexico Bachelor’s and Graduate program on Ledoux St., I am giving a course, labeled UHON 302: Spiritual Exercises: The Practical Path to Consciousness. It’s a course about thinking. Despite the new age sound, the course relies on the traditions of ancient Greek philosophy (i.e. philosophy as a way of life) to illustrate ways of making the mind your friend and the body a support system that resonates with your soul. Many of my students have said they find the principles of Stoicism and Epicureanism similar to Buddhism and other practices. Regardless, the better you “know thyself” the better you can understand society and others.
As many a sage, including Shakespeare’s Hamlet has said, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
The class meets every Wednesday at the Ledoux St. headquarters of UNM upper division at 5 pm, beginning Sept. 17. See Mary or Erin, phone 758—2828 to sign up. Seniors pay only $15 for the course.
We have fun discussing ideas.