COMMENTS FROM
JOE KOESTER
City Councilman Ward 9
Since about 1979, our language has incorporated more reference to “good” v. “evil” due in large to one movie series: Star Wars.
Actually, if memory serves, the movie lingo only comes right out and really names the evil side, the “Dark Side.” The good guys, it is reasoned, make up the “Light Side.” About that same time period, our politics too jumped into boiling all political differences into black and white. The good cowboy enters wearing white and riding a white horse, while the villain is clad in black on a stallion to match. Somehow, my party, the Democratic Party, became the bad guys in the culture wars. Of course, I see the grand irony of it all since the coffers of the Republican Party must be closer to that of Darth Vader’s Empirial Budget, while Democrats are more analogous to the ragtag rebel forces fighting on a wing and a prayer. And certainly, the expansion of governmental powers and loss of individual rights under a conservative Supreme Court (see ruling on your property rights), federal government (see many measures of Homeland Security Legislation/jailing of those in the press...too many to get into here), and even state government (see legislation on workers’ compensation or your ability to litigate) liken the Republican Party to the Empirical forces rather than the nobel, white-decked cowboy come to save the townsfolk!
Beyond that, it was a host of progressive legislation that reigned in the polluting corporations; removed children from the workforce; electrified rural America; built many of our nation’s parks and highways, schools and other public buildings; created a contract between every American citizen that we would do our best to prevent anyone in this land of immense wealth from living in destitute poverty, (especially our elderly and orphans); fought for a forty hour work week, vacation time, unemployment insurance; decided to pay for college education for our veterans and poor; help farmers and ranchers try and keep their family farms by subsidized loans and provide price supports for their work and goods; create Medicare; ... you get the point. So much of this fight and progress, it seems, is a direct response to that which people of all faiths are called to do — love their neighbors as themselves. See how the Right’s hollow claim to some sort of moral superiority is confusing for many of us? Now, at this point, this little piece could spiral out in all kinds of directions...a tome against Wal-mart’s low wages and subsidization to the tune of billions of tax dollars a year; culture wars (namely, Roe v Wade); the need for election finance reform to extract the domination of corporate money out of the political system (Teddy Roosevelt, where are you when we need you!); or maybe even a movie review of the latest Star Wars.
Actually, I want to bring it back to local politics. “All politics is local.” (Tip O’Neil, where are you when we need you!) A lot of people, I’m sure, see City politics as dualistic and your view point determines where you think Darth Vader sits at Council meetings. For some describing what they see, we hear a kind of good versus evil, the Dark Side versus the Light Side, and worse, some even employ religious verbiage to describe their perspective on things (like .. God told me).
Do not insult the Father above by buying into this whole idea. Politics is politics and there are many “sides” and many interests. It’s kind of like a game of Chinese checkers — there are a lot of different people moving at all directions across the board to reach their goals. Sometimes the guy on the right or left may help you make a great jump halfway across the board, but in the end, his eye is on his own board pieces. The overall good of the City better be your top interest, but each of us probably thinks that the project in his or her ward is the “best” thing for our City. We also believe that this guy or that guy will be the best for the job, this department or that department needs money the most. No side is “evil.”
Democracy is competition for limited means and the system of checks and balances is inter-linked with the process. Sometimes you have periods of greater harmony but you don’t always want all elected officials acting in concert.
It has been suggested that the squabbles at City Hall are: a) unique to St. Charles City; and b) preventing things from getting done. Unless you were cryogenically frozen along side of Hans Solo for the past 10 years, it would be a silly claim since each of our major towns and county government have seen many political clashes over the years. Mayor’s race in Wentzville; Mayor and Council vs. Council and Old Town Preservation in O’Fallon; police problems there too a couple of years ago, and apparently, again today; St. Peters Board v Mayor and most recently flood plain development; county government recall efforts and lawsuits against most everyone in the county...to name a few. Next, every time we attend a council meeting until midnight, meet with city residents, attend board or commission meeting, make requests for this or that for our wards, we are getting things done. Some may not be happy with decisions made and so if this guy or that guy doesn’t get a contract, then they feel nothing is getting done...for them.
So, through all of this verbal meandering my main point is that we should all refrain from speaking in terms that paint anyone as “evil.” Everyone on all sides can take a breath and remember, it’s not church, it’s politics!
Joe Koester
