Comment 108027

By ItJustIs (registered) | Posted January 19, 2015 at 14:05:46 in reply to Comment 108008

Last week David Dixon repeated several times the need for 'leadership'. (Irony was heavy in the air when he was taken to task for this by one of our esteemed Councillors; they felt that the word was subjective, and therefore useless. I believe 'pro-active' was the preferred adjective.) That in the end, transit changes would not result from 'numbers', but from political will.

This notion of a need for 'leadership' can be seen in almost all aspects of Life in Hamilton. During the election campaign I didn't get a whiff of any authentic abilities to 'lead' from any of the Mayoral candidates nor from any of those running for Ward Councillors. Even now, not long into Council's first year of the term, the dearth of leadership at 71 Main Street West is readily apparent.

Being a leader doesn't always involve working the positive into the city's narrative. It often requires dealing with the negative.

Hamilton is a polarized city. From entrenched, heels-dug-in naysayers to the close-knit cabal of evangelists who actually aren't interested in dialogue because they're deeply in love with the sounds of their own voices, contrary opinions be damned, we talk about being a vibrant city on the rebound, proudly resurrecting itself like a phoenix rising from the ashes, but in fact are mired in our Twitter-feeds where braying meets kvetching in all its 140-character glory.

Hamilton needs to learn how to have conversations before it can have the conversations it so badly needs to be having.

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