[Vision2020] Problems, not problem people

[melyndahuskey at earthlink.net]

Oh, dear. Now I'm a problem person, too.

Mark, I don't think you're picking on me. I think you're making some sweeping accusations about this town and its inhabitants which bear little resemblance to my own experience. Moscow may not be a good fit for you or your business, but there's something rather, well, adolescent about assuming that everybody else is at fault, that we're just not uptown enough for the finer things in life.

Here in Moscow I know pro-business people of all kinds, from the "Never met a big box I didn't like" sort to the "Local shops for local people" sort. I know pro-development people who sing, "Let development and joy be unrestrained," and I know the ones in the Smart Growth choir. I know artists of every imaginable variety--from our community band members to extraordinary painters, sculptors, and printmakers, from reggae bands to chamber music, from dance troupes to garden clubs to potters to jewelry makers to chefs and patissiers. And this is a small town, Mark; I know our acquaintances must overlap some. 

Heaven knows Moscow needs the hard work, affection, and attention of its citizens. We need all kinds of people, all kinds of businesses, all kinds of vocations and avocations. We need to straighten out some serious kinks in our public life--like the ongoing moral and financial debacle at the University of Idaho, our ambivalence about public education, the reluctance among really gifted and intelligent people to engage in public service, the complex balancing of growth and limited natural resources, the transformation of Northern Idaho's economy. We are not Utopia-on-the-prairie just yet. 

Like you, I am passionate about my work. In particular, I care deeply about the success of intentional dialogue, public discourse, and the creation of a shared and inclusive vision of our town that we can gradually make real. Unlike you, I'm not inclined to assume that our town is filled with lackluster know-nothings who don't care about, or are too ignorant to figure out how to work on those issues, just because they haven't adopted my point of view or my timetable on them. Sometimes people don't agree with me because I'm wrong. Sometimes I don't know the whole story, and I learn from other people. Sometimes I discover that two entirely contradictory visions can be nourished from one set of facts. (And, it must be said, sometimes they're just wrong.)

Look, Moscow may not be right for you. You may not be right for Moscow. I don't have any idea why, and I don't need to know--no fault, no foul. Sure, tell your new friends you just outgrew us. But these recriminations in this most public and permanent setting may not be the most thoughtful way to leave us.

Melynda Huskey
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