The Nuance of Apathy

To whom it may concern,

The Age of Obama is upon us, and the massive grassroots movement that brought it has yet to produce a sustained growth in local activism across the country. During this long and drawn-out presidential election, this country was witness to a new energy in the political process. And the significant victory of President Obama was a mandate for change in this country. For the first few months of his Presidency, Obama has quickly set in motion a reformation of this country. Certainly no one would have thought a discussion about health care reform or praise from Venezuela would ever have come for America just six short months ago. And now, with this administration moving full steam ahead on its agenda, it feels like the grassroots initiatives that brought this community organizer to the highest office of our nation has been dormant. With all of this action, it seems that locally generated change is either still celebrating or it has been trumped by top-down change. Has this new age of change brought apathy amongst its supporters and irrelevance to its detractors? The exact kind of change this country had demanded is systematically deteriorating the support base that brought it to power. Now that Obama is the head of the government, we should not be complacent with our local governments and local issues. Sustainability is thinking globally and acting locally. While this administration's message is clear, local governments are still trying to grapple with this change, its meaning, and most importantly, its implementation. How will the federal government connect to the State and Local governments in order to implement its message of change and transformation?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP