austin elections, big deal. after watching street fight and the times of harvey milk, my expectations for government, particularly local government, have changed. i want to be inspired and moved. the city council nor mayoral candidates did this. it’s the same rhetoric: words hidden behind words, hidden behind other words… for austin being so progressive, the politicians really didn’t stand out for me. i was hoping that one of the candidates would be able to get people to the streets hollering and holding signs about what kinds of changes need to be made and how “so and so” was going to bring them. i know we’re in austin and people tend to be laid back and sometimes too p.c. and/or liberal, but i think it works against the progress that’s needed. i recently asked a couple of the mayoral candidates at a forum why there were only a handful of latinos and blacks at the forum. simple question. their response: they didn’t know, but they assured me that their campaigns had several latinos and blacks on board. that made me feel a lot better.
free advice to future candidates: get some balls (aka courage), don’t be afraid to rock the boat, and speak your mind, and loudly.
here are a couple of documentaries whose characters demonstrate the passion i’d like to see in our local government.
Street Fight Trailer
The Times of Harvey Milk Trailer
