Civitas, the Spirit of the Citizen, the belief in The City.

[stephendare]

The first and perhaps only great mayor was Greek. He was Pericles of Athens, and he lived some 2500 years ago, and he said, "All things good of this earth flow into the City because of the City's greatness."

This is a quote from one of my favorite speeches in movie history.
Al Pacino in City Hall.

http://www.youtube.com/v/BwEbwVPDLxk

It seems like the good points of the republican era of conservatism were to restore the idea of rectitude and ethical conduct in government (I know that that is NOT what happened, but it was what all the rank and file signed up for)   Despite the stultifying failures on the part of the latter day Republican leadership, I think that the Reagan Revolution did succeed in restoring these ideals back to the structure of the common citizen's expectation of Government.  For example, I think that there is a broad consensus now that profiteering off of the misery of victimhood, or simply not accounting for where public monies are being spent are social evils---a consensus that was perhaps unacknowledged for decades during the late 60s and throughout the 70s.

Of course there has always been that feeling among people but the conservatives---at least the good conservatives--- focused the attention of the nation on self help, accountability, and the like.   It is once again a country that publicly believes in the virtues of pullings one's self up by one's boot strap.  It is also one that sees virtue in taking personal responsibility in helping the people around you.  So despite the many mishaps and the pandering to the bizarre extremes that any movement is guilty of, in this at least, the conservatives succeeded.

Having accomplished that, how do we proceed in a forward direction?

How do we create a city worth living in?

I think a good first step is to sweep the money lenders from the temple.  No one with any connection to the Builders Association, the Oil industry, or the construction of highways or public infrastructure that hopes to do business with or because of the city should be able to hold a seat.

So thanks Folio for getting rid of a simple merchant in San Marco from Council, while leaving in place the men and women who have ruined the finances of the city while personally benefitting from suburban sprawl and development

In a conversation with Lee Harvey, speculating about how to go forward into the economic downturn an interesting subject came up.  The City is in a similar place as the Great Fire.   There is almost nothing left, and what is still there, the Banking, Financial, and Communication industries that inhabit the towers are about to feel the axman's blade in this particular type of recession.

The City's long cycle, taken up by Haydon Burns is coming to a close.  It is nearly finished, and even the foundations of the buildings which created that cycle have been torn up out of the ground like the teeth of a once ferocious beast.

It is a blank slate, in many ways.  A new cycle is about to be written across it.  And it is something that our generation, and many of the people involved with this forum will decide.

What will it be?