Reality Bites by James Norton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

(Editor’s note: OK, I am NOT being lazy. I just found this one from November 2003 and thought it would be cool to retread it. I think that Joe Curtatone is doing a great job as mayor, and it’s nice to look back and see what has happened since this time.)

I sometimes wonder what drives us to do the things that we do in everyday life. A combination of mutual lack of respect, no common courtesy and blatant rudeness pervades our lives daily. If we aren’t being bombarded by it on TV, then we hear about it on the radio, and when those two mediums aren’t available, it can creep up on us in the grocery store, the mall, even in our neighborhoods. There doesn’t seem to be a safe place from this type of insanity anymore.

In the middle of the day in a grocery store recently, I watched as a mother with two small kids in the checkout line was abruptly cut off by another woman who honestly looked like she was going to punch the mom in the face if she even whispered resistance in her direction. The next evening, I was at Joe Curtatone‚Äôs celebration party on election night and witnessed an elected official of this city (true to her form) screaming obscenities in a wild and very loud tirade at one of the publishers of this paper because that person didn‚Äôt like our opinion of her. To her credit, she apologized later on, but the damage was done.  Remorse is a funny thing. And yes, it sometimes hits even the crudest of people.  This second cousin of atonement should not be the saving grace of self-loathing that most people use to comfort themselves after acting like asses.  (Editor‚Äôs note: This is the same person who couldn‚Äôt acquire enough signatures to be put on the ballot for reelection this year 2007. Anyone surprised?)

I consider loyalty to be a basic instinct of mine. I was brought up to believe that when you give your word to someone, you live up to that word no matter what. Loyalty to my family and my friends is something they can count on to the very end. After years of involvement in local politics and some of the off-the-wall stunts I have seen, it totally amazes me that there still a large number of non-medicated nutcases who run around doing the craziest things that fly in the face of reason. I don’t need to get into specifics, but watching some of the people who Mayor Kelly Gay helped out personally and politically turn their backs on her was shocking. She didn’t deserve it from some of them, but yet, from others she did. We all make our beds, don’t we have to lie in them as well? Without this type of disloyalty, local politics wouldn’t be as entertaining to watch, would it? (Editor’s note: Funny how things change, but not really, when it comes to loyalty to elected officials and how they can treat you like a second class citizen’s and easily forget all the things you did for them. Sound familiar?)

I am sorry that Dorothy lost, happy Joe won and I have respect for Tony. You see, it’s not that hard to be rational without riding the fence. More people should try it. The unspoken rub is in the revenge. There are some people who are driven their entire lives by revenge. They are typically driven by blinded vengeance fueled by paranoia and infused with a dash of irony. They make the perfect “pod people.”

I guess what I am getting at is we need to practice a little more self-control and courtesy to our fellow man and woman. While it was nice to see decent voter turnout considering the lack of challenged seats across the city, as a resident, I am hopeful that when times get even tougher for this community in the future, we can all work together.

The future, albeit with tough issues ahead of us, looks bright. Curtatone has the right ideas and the ability to put it all together. The people wanted change, and change he shall bring them. Of course, Joe will have to mend a few bridges not completely broken, keep a level head about himself and put together a good administration of people who really care about this city. Does that mean we will see some of the old guard as well as the new guard in his administration? Of course. For this city to move forward, we need experienced local people who will grow into their positions with a renewed sense of cooperation. Most importantly, we need a public aware of challenges that lie ahead of Curtatone and that is willing to accept very difficult decisions for both the short and long term betterment of the community as a whole.

Amusement time is over – it’s time to get to work Рgood luck Joe. (Editor’s note: As I said at the top of this piece, I think Mayor Joe has done a tremendous job so far.)