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Oklahoma City in 2011
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a man of lots (and lots) of words.
Today, then, let me be brief in what I have to say.
For much too long now, I’ve listened to my friends, to my neighbors, to my classmates— to the people who call Oklahoma City their home— and I’ve heard their laments, their frustrations, and their cynicism regarding the state of the city and the politics that govern it.
For far too many years, I’ve listened to my friends, to my neighbors, and to my classmates as they dismiss the entire political process as something beyond their understanding, as something beyond their control, as something that simply does not concern them.
For too many nights, I’ve listened to my smartest friends, to my most caring neighbors, and to my most brilliant classmates as they share in the despair of the most downtrodden, convinced that Oklahoma City has little or nothing to offer them.
For way too many afternoons in restaurants and coffee shops, I’ve listened to the person sitting across the table from me explain in precise detail their planned escape route to greener, more urban pastures.
For too many phone conversations to recall, I’ve listened to visionaries young and old tell me their vision for an Oklahoma City that welcomes them and their different perspectives on life and love.
For far too many walks in parks, I’ve walked with my friends, with my neighbors, and with my classmates and I’ve listened to them wonder aloud how much longer the many wonderful neighborhoods that define Oklahoma City must remain separated from each other, how much longer we must pretend that the other simply does not exist.
My friends, must we continue to pretend that we don’t have a voice? How much longer before we face ourselves and the damage done to our homes, to our communities?
How much longer must we forego the responsibility of citizenship in favor of distraction and spectacle? Must we suffer the same fate as the generations before us? Must we resign our city to voicelessness?
This Tuesday, the young people of this city—my friends, my neighbors, and my classmates—have an amazing opportunity to set aside their cynicism, to set aside their apathy.
This Tuesday, anyone who lives in the Paseo, in Jefferson or Edgemere Park, in the Asian District, near the gay strip on 39th Street, near Penn Square Mall, near Oklahoma City University has a chance to do just that—to have a voice in the direction of their city.
One month ago, only 32 voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the City Council election for Ward 2. 73 percent of voters were over 50 years old. In other words, that 73 percent determined the election.
No one hears us when we refuse to say anything.
This Tuesday, must that be our fate?
Dear friend, please consider Dr. Ed Shadid in Tuesday’s election. Please consider that, this time, we have a voice and a vote in how our communities and our neighborhoods take shape.
This Tuesday, don’t let distractions, spectacles, and an insane amount of money from big businesses determine your destiny or the future of our city.
Surely, it’s been too many years of lament. Surely, it’s time to say something.
Surely, it’s time to make our voices heard.
I felt like I could have written this, excellent job James, looking forward to your upcoming articles for the Gazette.