I Love New York
Nov. 3rd, 2009 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morrigirlI have to vote today. I hate voting.
Actually, I don't mind voting in local elections. Local politics feel far more urgent to me than national politics because their effects are quick and direct. I don't always make it to the polls for Presidential elections but I haven't missed a Mayoral election since I turned eighteen. Tonight after work I plan to trudge down to my old elementary school and cast my vote for Not-Mike-Bloomberg because, really, how can you support a man who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has no respect for the democratic process or the wishes of his constituency? Bill Thompson could be a gun-toting, cigar-smoking, baby-eating, Jesus freak and I'd still vote for him over Bloomberg.
Truth be told, up until Bloomberg decided to reverse the term limits law, (a law twice voted on and upheld by the good citizens of NYC), side-stepping his constituency by taking the repeal vote to the City Council instead of the public, I didn't have a problem with Bloomberg. Sure, I never voted for him because I don't vote for Republicans on principle, but during the eight years he was in office he didn't do a single thing to really piss me off, and that was a welcome change after eight horrific years of Guiliani. Bloomberg would have gone out as a good guy in my book had he not decided he was above the rules and regulations agreed upon by the voting public. The arrogance and entitlement of that one action got me so fucking mad it cast a shadow over my opinion of him. I will never be able to look back from this vantage point and say, "You know, Mike Bloomberg was a pretty good mayor."
Despite that, I have a feeling he is going to get re-elected. That makes me sad. People seem more willing to go with "the devil they know" then to take a gamble on the unknown. They'd rather vote in a man who they know doesn't give a shit about their wants and needs as expressed through the voting process than a man who they will have to learn and feel out and get to know.
*takes a breath* Sorry. I had to get that out of my system.
I don't think I mentioned it but![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
daver40 was in town a couple of weeks ago. We hung out in Union Square for a few hours. We talked about the cost of living in NYC vs. Chicago, NYC's ever shrinking middle class, the sorry state of the MTA and subway service in general, and taxes.
To digress for a moment, I've actually been thinking a lot about taxes over the last couple of months. I realized I didn't really know how I felt about taxation in general so I decided to figure it out. The verdict? I have no problem with tax increases as long as I can see where my money is going. If Paterson or Bloomberg held a news conference tomorrow and said, "Hey, we're going to increase your taxes by X amount but that money will go directly to improving the school system and you will see your tax dollars at work in a decrease in overcrowded classrooms, an influx of new textbooks and an end to book sharing, and an increase in teacher salaries and benefits," I would have no problem with that. Similarly, I'd have no problem with paying more for public transportation as long as I actually saw the money being put to good use by reducing rampant service delays, improving track maintenance, and replacing those practically useless water pumps. I want to see at least some of the money the government takes from me put toward improving the community. I think that's why I gave $600 to charity last year.
Anyway, back to my visit with Dave. At one point he asked me what I love about New York. As someone for whom NYC is "a nice place to visit, but..." he seemed genuinely interested in hearing what a native considered the high points.
When thinking about New York I always come back to the line in Dar Williams' song "Mortal City" that goes "People built the cities because they love other people." I think that's very true. You have to love other people if you are going to live in such close proximity to eight million of them. That love takes many forms in New York, being polite and courteous to each other for one. That love and courtesy fosters a respect for others that allows people to create the life they want here.
It has been said that urban living is isolating, and it can be. But it doesn't have to be, at least not in New York. With so many people and organizations packed into such a small space it's easy to make friends and create a social network if that's what you want. But New York also makes it easy for you to live an isolated existence if it suits you. Living in such close proximity to so many other people requires that you learn to shut things out of your consciousness. You become deaf to loud noises and blind to unwanted sights. Erecting boundaries is essential to big city living. Without them you suffer from perpetual information overload. Most New Yorkers keep their blinders up until given a reason to take them down, and that is a benefit to all the lone wolves out there. It makes it easy for a person to remain separate. New York does not force anyone to mentally or emotionally engage.
There are few places on the planet where it is easy to be both completely connected and totally alone. Small towns typically prevent anyone from fading into the background, and more geographically diffuse cities make it harder to connect. But, in New York lets you have it both ways. You can connect for half of the day and disconnect for the other half.
It also gives you the option of being "alone together." Riding on the subway is a good example of this. You sit in a car full of strangers. All of you are engaging in the same activity, yet all remain mentally separate from one another. Being alone together allows you to remain isolated while surrounded by others. This is my preferred state of being. I love walking down Broadway with my headset on, lost in my own thoughts as my body operates on automatic, dodging baby-carriages and scaffolding. It makes me feel connected without sacrificing the mental rest I absolutely need in order to remain healthy. I feel connected by virtue of being one person among many living in this City at this time. And the buildings I walk past, the streets I cross, the concrete under my feet - all erected by workers long since gone the way of the dodo - remind me that I am part of a larger whole. I am part of the ongoing history of New York. That thought makes me feel whole. Outdoorsy types often speak of feeling at one with the universe when connecting to nature. I feel at one with the universe when connecting with civilization.
Another thing I love about this City is its diversity. NYC is a true melting pot. Living here I've met people I would never have had the opportunity to meet elsewhere. I know people from Africa, Honduras, Haiti, France, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Spain, Russia, you fucking name it! I know gay people, straight people, bi people, white people, black people, yellow people. Pagans, Baptists, Muslims, Catholics, Methodists, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus. I could go on and on. Hosting people from diverse backgrounds fosters cultural diversity. We have theatre, dance, music, and art developed and performed by people from across the globe. You don't get that in fucking Peoria!
That's what I told Dave, albeit far less intelligably, and why I am going to vote this evening. Because I love this town and want nothing but the best for it.
Actually, I don't mind voting in local elections. Local politics feel far more urgent to me than national politics because their effects are quick and direct. I don't always make it to the polls for Presidential elections but I haven't missed a Mayoral election since I turned eighteen. Tonight after work I plan to trudge down to my old elementary school and cast my vote for Not-Mike-Bloomberg because, really, how can you support a man who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has no respect for the democratic process or the wishes of his constituency? Bill Thompson could be a gun-toting, cigar-smoking, baby-eating, Jesus freak and I'd still vote for him over Bloomberg.
Truth be told, up until Bloomberg decided to reverse the term limits law, (a law twice voted on and upheld by the good citizens of NYC), side-stepping his constituency by taking the repeal vote to the City Council instead of the public, I didn't have a problem with Bloomberg. Sure, I never voted for him because I don't vote for Republicans on principle, but during the eight years he was in office he didn't do a single thing to really piss me off, and that was a welcome change after eight horrific years of Guiliani. Bloomberg would have gone out as a good guy in my book had he not decided he was above the rules and regulations agreed upon by the voting public. The arrogance and entitlement of that one action got me so fucking mad it cast a shadow over my opinion of him. I will never be able to look back from this vantage point and say, "You know, Mike Bloomberg was a pretty good mayor."
Despite that, I have a feeling he is going to get re-elected. That makes me sad. People seem more willing to go with "the devil they know" then to take a gamble on the unknown. They'd rather vote in a man who they know doesn't give a shit about their wants and needs as expressed through the voting process than a man who they will have to learn and feel out and get to know.
*takes a breath* Sorry. I had to get that out of my system.
I don't think I mentioned it but
daver40 was in town a couple of weeks ago. We hung out in Union Square for a few hours. We talked about the cost of living in NYC vs. Chicago, NYC's ever shrinking middle class, the sorry state of the MTA and subway service in general, and taxes. To digress for a moment, I've actually been thinking a lot about taxes over the last couple of months. I realized I didn't really know how I felt about taxation in general so I decided to figure it out. The verdict? I have no problem with tax increases as long as I can see where my money is going. If Paterson or Bloomberg held a news conference tomorrow and said, "Hey, we're going to increase your taxes by X amount but that money will go directly to improving the school system and you will see your tax dollars at work in a decrease in overcrowded classrooms, an influx of new textbooks and an end to book sharing, and an increase in teacher salaries and benefits," I would have no problem with that. Similarly, I'd have no problem with paying more for public transportation as long as I actually saw the money being put to good use by reducing rampant service delays, improving track maintenance, and replacing those practically useless water pumps. I want to see at least some of the money the government takes from me put toward improving the community. I think that's why I gave $600 to charity last year.
Anyway, back to my visit with Dave. At one point he asked me what I love about New York. As someone for whom NYC is "a nice place to visit, but..." he seemed genuinely interested in hearing what a native considered the high points.
When thinking about New York I always come back to the line in Dar Williams' song "Mortal City" that goes "People built the cities because they love other people." I think that's very true. You have to love other people if you are going to live in such close proximity to eight million of them. That love takes many forms in New York, being polite and courteous to each other for one. That love and courtesy fosters a respect for others that allows people to create the life they want here.
It has been said that urban living is isolating, and it can be. But it doesn't have to be, at least not in New York. With so many people and organizations packed into such a small space it's easy to make friends and create a social network if that's what you want. But New York also makes it easy for you to live an isolated existence if it suits you. Living in such close proximity to so many other people requires that you learn to shut things out of your consciousness. You become deaf to loud noises and blind to unwanted sights. Erecting boundaries is essential to big city living. Without them you suffer from perpetual information overload. Most New Yorkers keep their blinders up until given a reason to take them down, and that is a benefit to all the lone wolves out there. It makes it easy for a person to remain separate. New York does not force anyone to mentally or emotionally engage.
There are few places on the planet where it is easy to be both completely connected and totally alone. Small towns typically prevent anyone from fading into the background, and more geographically diffuse cities make it harder to connect. But, in New York lets you have it both ways. You can connect for half of the day and disconnect for the other half.
It also gives you the option of being "alone together." Riding on the subway is a good example of this. You sit in a car full of strangers. All of you are engaging in the same activity, yet all remain mentally separate from one another. Being alone together allows you to remain isolated while surrounded by others. This is my preferred state of being. I love walking down Broadway with my headset on, lost in my own thoughts as my body operates on automatic, dodging baby-carriages and scaffolding. It makes me feel connected without sacrificing the mental rest I absolutely need in order to remain healthy. I feel connected by virtue of being one person among many living in this City at this time. And the buildings I walk past, the streets I cross, the concrete under my feet - all erected by workers long since gone the way of the dodo - remind me that I am part of a larger whole. I am part of the ongoing history of New York. That thought makes me feel whole. Outdoorsy types often speak of feeling at one with the universe when connecting to nature. I feel at one with the universe when connecting with civilization.
Another thing I love about this City is its diversity. NYC is a true melting pot. Living here I've met people I would never have had the opportunity to meet elsewhere. I know people from Africa, Honduras, Haiti, France, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Spain, Russia, you fucking name it! I know gay people, straight people, bi people, white people, black people, yellow people. Pagans, Baptists, Muslims, Catholics, Methodists, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus. I could go on and on. Hosting people from diverse backgrounds fosters cultural diversity. We have theatre, dance, music, and art developed and performed by people from across the globe. You don't get that in fucking Peoria!
That's what I told Dave, albeit far less intelligably, and why I am going to vote this evening. Because I love this town and want nothing but the best for it.
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-03 07:35 pm (UTC)Amen, sista! Don't even get me started on Bloomy. The fact that he classifies all Eastern Europeans as "Russian" is the tip of the iceberg.
I love your description of NYC. That's why I love it here too. :)