A Tale of Two Cities

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only..."


My good and wise friend, Fred, points out to me that the current situation in Benton Harbor is like a Dickens Novel. Who would believe the cast of characters on either side of the issues (There are many). Who knows who to believe. Dickens opens his bleakest novel by saying  it is an allegory to his beloved London and this allegory has played out time and again from Cain and Abel to the Civil War and every time brothers have been divided by rivers, borders, birthrights and greed.


I leave it to others to point out the issues and you might go here to see different sides of the issues:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-420LU_Of0&feature=share


http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/04/column.html




I'm sure you can come up with the key words and Google the rest. I am also sure you can find the facts you need to bolster your own arguments, agendas and assign blame wherever you may need to. This is how arguing works... 


To me, there are two issues here: does the current EFM have the right to disband a duly elected body and did the city have the right to hand over a portion of the park for the purpose of building three holes of a private golf course. There have and will be many arguments on both sides on both issues. To me the bottom line is that both of these issues are about subverting the will of the people and the rule of law. The courts and the people will eventually rule on both but, on a deeper level, the damage is done, the die is cast and the sharp point of the knife has wedged in and not without blood.  It is a tale as old as time and not just about two cities.


To the first issue I can only add that the dark spectre of democracy simply being removed may or may not stir the people to act. 'Surely it has only happened to people who deserve it. Not to me'. 'Repression is sometimes necessary' is the underlying philosophy we hear in the rationalizations and justifications for this tragedy.  Pastor Niemoeller still weeps...


Dickens also wrote:

"Oppression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky."


One can also quote the pundits, politicians, profiteers and professional proselytizers but here are the words of a parent. The parent that deeded the park to the people of Benton Harbor. In perpetuity. The parent whose child died. In her childhood. The parent whose intent is being interpreted by others... In their greed.

"In taking an inventory of life, we all take stock of the circumstances surrounding the happiest moments. The giving of this park to the city of Benton Harbor has been to Mrs. Klock and myself, the happiest moment of our lives. The deed of this park in the courthouse of St. Joseph will live forever. Perhaps some of you do not own a foot of ground, remember then, that this is your park, it belongs to you. Perhaps some of you have no piano or phonograph, the roll of the water murmuring in calm, roaring in storm, is your music, your piano and music box. The beach is yours, the drive is yours, the dunes are yours, all yours. It is not so much a gift from my wife and myself, it’s a gift from a little child. See to it that the park is the children's.”