What happened? Mayor Dickert ran on a platform that included a "10 year plan" for the city of Racine. After the election, he dodged questions about the plan, then finally said that the plan would appear in his first budget. He told Dustin Block of the Racine Post that he knew exactly what every neighborhood in Racine would look like in 10 years, then taunted Dustin with, "Do you?"
Well, the budget was presented yesterday and there's no mention of a 10 year plan. I do not understand. By saying that the ten year plan would be "in" the budget, does Mayor Dickert mean that taxes will be raised for the next ten years?
Am I the only person who is insulted when lied to? Why do we elect liars? Why do we let them get away with lying to us?
And this one is critical to me personally, absolutely critical: how do you function in a society where others lie to you? How do you discern what is the truth and how do you decide which actions to take if you do not know the truth? I admit that I have never been able to figure that out. It has hampered me my entire life. Lying appears to pay off very well - my greatest "professional success" came to me when my job was to lie to customers. But it messes with my head big time - I am soon unable to function at all.
I am not joking here and I am not trying to raise a stink about Dickert. The JTI is hardly powerful enough to do that. But I am serious about lying: it has baffled and confused me for as long as I can remember. How do you deal with, how do you do business with, how do you interact with someone who lies? I just walk away. Physically, yes, I turn around and leave. (Remember the bloggers meet with Mayor Pedo?) I do not know what else to do.
What possible hope is there for a city when its leader lies? I do not understand this world. I never have.
That is exactly where I am right now with my job. The misdirection is totally intentional. I have been both lied to and, at one point, lied about. This is how upper management deals with anything. That, or just postpone everything or shove it to someone else. Eventually, most get tired of the runaround and give up.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that your assumption is correct; that must be how you get ahead. I don't know how to handle it. In the meantime, quality diminishes. But, who cares?
I do know... I don't want the darn recycle carts. I am tired of dodging everyones trash cans in the street as it is.
When recycling was introduced, it was supposed to save the city money by reducing landfill input. The profits of what they sold would be "icing on the cake," if I remember correctly. Now, the proposal is to pay a yearly fee for cart maintenance?
Theres a plan...
It depresses me and it crazes me. Lied to often enough and I can easily understand how someone explodes in frustration and anger. It impedes critical thought. It poisons relationships. It infects the soul. It kills. And it is the stock and trade of most of our civic, political nad religious leaders.
ReplyDeleteJeez, now I'm even more depressed. Fucking liars.
Well I just keep saying, we need to clean house, I've talked to people who supported Dickert and thought he was everything and they are now pissed as hell. I've been saying that we need an everyday joe just a normal citizen to start in government, our aldermen are just head bobblers (I wish my health was 100% cuz I would run for the 10th and raise hell) citizens need to band together and that's the only way it can be done.
ReplyDeletep.s. Dickert talked the talk but has no idea how to walk the walk, in my opinion he was full of shit from day one, you don't put a 10 year plan in place when you are only elected for 2 years. What that is going to be his reelection campsign "I need more time for my 10 year"?
ReplyDeleteI wasn't joking when I said the 10 year plan was to stay in office for 10 years.
ReplyDeleteIt's just depressing. The cold, calculated cynicism of it all. Lie to the people to get elected, then lie, lie, lie some more. When he said that we (he and City Adminstrator Mini-Me) understand that our city is hurting, I briefly hoped that he had an inkling....
But no, it's back to the citizens of Racine vs. the Downtown Mafia. Those who do vs. those who leech off of them. So sick of the lies...
How do you teach your children morality and about lies if you're a liar yourself? How do you look them in the eyes? How can you say you love them when you're a liar? Do you expect them to grow up to be truthful adults in a truthful society when you lie as an adult in that very same society? Or do you teach them to lie?
ReplyDeleteAgain, not accusing anyone of anything, other than Dickert of lying, but that's no big deal, right? He's the mayor and that's expected, right? And again, I've had trouble with this ALL of my life. I'm just trying to understand. When you lie, do you expect others to speak the truth? Do you believe that you can achieve "better" things for yourself or others by lying? Can we even possibly begin to understand each other and our problems if we lie to each other?
I KNOW that I missed something very important in my upbringing. This has dogged me for decades. What am I missing? What truth eludes me in my misunderstanding of lying?
A therapist I saw for years once told me that well-adjusted individuals cut through life like "a hot knife through butter." I so wanted that. Still do.
ReplyDeleteHow do you cut through/accept the lies like a hot knife through butter? I talked to that guy for three years and nothing changed. That's when I decided to visit a shrink and see if the pills would work any magic. They didn't help. Lies still bother me. I'm not a hot knife. Maybe a cold spoon...
I understand Orbs. I have always believed that it's easier to tell the truth than try to remember a lie. I have instilled that in my kids and my youngest one came and told me something and I said why did you tell me and she said "Because I would rather tell you the truth now than in a few months from now you find out and get really pissed off"
ReplyDeleteWe've set our standards too high. The world does not operate on the 1950's morals we were brought up with.
ReplyDeleteLying, cheating, stealing is the modern way and apparently ok now. It is ok to offer shoddy workmanship. It is ok to sell something that you know will break. It is ok to offer poor customer service or goods.
It is all about the "me generation..." and self promotion, any way you can get it. Screw your neighbor if you have to.
I guess you can't be disappointed if you don't have expectations of grandeur.
Grandeur? How about common decency? But I know exactly what you mean, kk. I guess I just had to whine online. This is the Jerry Springer generation. God save us all!
ReplyDelete