The Scranton Times had an opinion piece in its March 24th edition that talked about why so few women run for office in Lackawanna Country. This comes almost a week after the same newspaper glowing reported on the annual Friendly Sons banquet, an ALL MALE event held every year around St. Patrick's Day. That event is as much about establishment power brokers as it is local Irish Heritage. Apparently, the editors of the Scranton Times don't see the irony in their reporting/opinion pieces. I do.
In other news of the ironic, Lackawanna County Commissioner Laureen Cummings, self-styled "Tea Party Patriot", apparently is fine with a back-room Democratic party public job offering to someone who seems more connected than qualified(1). Yes, she who rails "against the system" is actually fine with the system, all the while managing to try and protect county residents from that scourge known as the bicycle(2). My personal feeling is that, with all due respect to Ms. Cummings and her personal achievements, the simple concept of irony seems beyond her capabilities.
What do these things have in common?
Well for starters, this isn't about some big-headed anonymous Internet commentator throwing stones. I will readily and publicly admit that I'm an idiot sometimes. However, I try to be a consistent idiot. What's more, I just write crap on the Internet. I don't pretend to have a big audience. I don't claim to be inspiring or smart. I can barely influence my own behaviors, let alone the behaviors of others. I just claim to be me. I'll leave the biting political commentary to Tom Borthwick(3). However, few things bother me more in life than hypocrisy.
No, these things are about something bigger. If there was a Grand Unified Theory(4) of NEPA, it would center around the notion that power is the antithesis of progress. It would be that change...
...be it to "cutting edge of 1950's" social norms
or
...to the notion of politics as usual no matter who you are
...is inherently something to be avoided at all costs. It's about "We've got ours, so screw yours!". NEPA is a small pond with a few big fish, a small number of aspiring to be big fish, and lots of guppies. And that's the way the big fish have always like it.
(1) Reference THIS story.
(2) Reference THIS editorial.
(3) You can find him HERE, although I do think fatherhood has mellowed him out quite a bit.
(4) Just because I am also a science nerd; see THIS reference.
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