WE WILL ALL BE WATCHING

THIS POST IS FROM TWO YEARS AGO. On occasion, I'm going to share some of the posts from my archives, as they seem to still illustrate the issues of today we still face. Enjoy. 

"Noel, what have Hall and Cohen promised you to bash Cori? We will all be watching after the election should he win (God forbid). We’ve seen him do it before. BTW, I’m not talking about the agreement he previously made with you that he and “his candidate” won’t say anything against your wife’s campaign. Washington politics and Carlsbad politics have so much in common. TAKERS" 

These words were posted by an online surrogate for somebody running against my wife for Carlsbad City Council. She lives in Tustin. 

As a private citizen, my right to have an opinion separate from my wife would seem to be constitutionally protected. Rules prescribing who Americans can associate with disappeared with the era of Jim Crow. Though my opinion should not matter, I am constantly badgered in multiple places to comment about the election for Carlsbad's Mayor. 

I oppose the sexist concept that a woman can only run with her husband's permission, which is being promulgated by other women in 2018 AD. I oppose the sexist concept that a woman should be held accountable for her husband's divergent thought. The fact these outdated concepts are being advanced by those claiming to be progressives, as opposed to those supporting the President, speaks volumes. No refutation of mine can top that self-indicting prose. 

Linda made her choice out of a conviction that she could make a positive difference in her community. I respect her choice, but I have concluded the divides in this community are not going to dissipate soon. The poison in the country has affected politics everywhere. To see so much contention in Carlsbad makes the discourse even more jarring. There does not seem to be a single intractable problem on the horizon. But when poisoned human relationships are in the mix, when NIMBY-ism and property rights are added to the equation, the discourse devolves into a zero-sum game. Unlike my wife, I believe this community is so divided against itself, that there always will be toxic differences that may never be resolved amicably.  

Not that it should matter, but I still do not know who I will vote for in the race for Mayor of Carlsbad. The incumbent often advocates for policies I dispute. I believe in a compassionate resolution to the immigration debate. The Mayor and Council majority voted to file an amicus brief opposing SB 54. I cannot find any justification for that choice. His challenger enunciates many issues I agree with, but I have deeply held concerns about her temperament for office, her commitment to progressive causes, and her political alliances within the local Democratic Party.

Ms. Schumacher's recent refusal to address substantive questions about her "battery farm" proposal makes me question her daily promises of transparency.  To me, it's a stark choice between two less than palatable options, between an incumbent whose policies I oppose, and a candidate who historically has ostracized anybody who has dared to disagree with her. 

My simple act of asking for the answers Cori has continually promised to provide apparently appears to some as my having committed apostasy. I am bracing myself for the online heresy trials still to come. Cynics might claim that my concerns are driven by some vendetta. As a human, I certainly do not approve of my wife being vilified in a 10,000-word screed by her Democratic opponent's campaign manager. I would ask how you would react after reading a rant urging people to confront your spouse in public? I would submit that anybody walking a mile in those moccasins, would seriously rethink their support for the overall leader of that effort. 

To my former allies calling me a traitor in their secret Facebook hangout, I would ask one question. Recent differences aside, are you really OK with a thinly disguised call to violence being issued against somebody who worked side by side with each of you for years?  Spare us the claims that it's a simple case of your Oceanside-based mercenary "going rogue." No matter how often certain individuals don Mr. Rogers T-shirts and babble "Is it kind, Is it necessary, and is it true," the secret is out. When a campaign devolves into 'Won't you slander, call for potential physical or verbal assaults, and seek to run your neighbor out of town?",  it merits opposition. Reagan famously said, "I didn't leave my party, my party left me." Some of my former associates have brought that departure to an entirely new and sinister level. 

Unlike the Tustinite quoted above, my wife and I activated ourselves and spent hours and days pouring over thousands of pages of the City's internal documents. We looked for evidence that the Mayor and Council majority did something ethically wrong. The hard facts are this. They didn't. There is a difference between choices we passionately disagree with and evidence of something morally wrong. We found none. Our failure was not for lack of effort or lack of expertise. There is a difference between politicians advancing policies we dislike, and actually committing a crime. Confusing the two promiscuously does not advance any good cause. In fact, it obliterates the credibility of the accusers. 

Truth should not be the concern of any one party. The victims of the current toxicity in politics are rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. They are in short, all of us. No matter who is in the crosshairs, each is a human being whose families are being affected by what is being said. No one can be certain who next will suffer from the brutality of our politics. It goes on and on and on in this country and even here in Carlsbad. 

Policies should matter. But the damage that years of drama and infighting have wrought matters as well. Some of my new "frenemies" believe that any disagreement is prima facie proof that somebody is corrupted. I believe that the most toxic corruption of all is the irrationality we see in our politics. We can’t find common ground on which to respectfully disagree. To many, the other side is “the enemy.” We unfollow each other on Facebook or lob firebombs at each other in discussion groups. In a small community of 125,000 people, that level of animus should bother a lot more people than simply me.

I'm getting old. For the first time in my life, I have had to dwell on the possibility that I could leave this world before I want to depart. Between the weirdness of this political season, my wife running for office,  and recent struggles of age and health, I have spent much time wondering If I were to die, tomorrow what would I want people to know?  

I hope my wife knows I love her, and that I have tried to keep my little family safe. Many times in recent weeks, someone has asked why people hate her and by extension hate me.  I certainly am not popular with several vocal people in our little community. Just the other night, after the fall out from the latest local drama, my wife and I were yelled at in public for her opposition to her Democratic opponent. By her Democratic opponent.  Yes, it really did happen.  Think of that one leading your city. 

I have gotten some praise of late for speaking out against the division in our corner of the world. I wish I had done it sooner. I never thought about the consequences, it just seemed the right thing to do. Now the worry is my companion. My career is on hold, and what about my wife? The loss of friends weighs heavily. We suffer from an inability to go to a meeting without faces emanating hatred and rage. The aggressive nature of some people I encounter sends the message Linda and I have inadvertently burned too many bridges.  Of course, it all has taken an undeniable toll. 

Despite the daily fallout on social media, I do know I’m still standing for the same things I was advocating for years ago. In dealing with the blowback from my wife running for office without Cori Schumacher's permission, I have learned that winning is not the only thing. Linda being true to herself is much more important. Pressure and threats are unpleasant. But my wife doing what she believes is right matters much more than my doing what’s popular. If the people voting in Carlsbad's District One want to elect an automatic vote for Cori Schumacher's agenda, they can vote for her vassal. If the voters want to have a Councilperson who is willing and able to make reasoned and objective judgments, they do have alternate choices.  

In Scripture, we see the people who had cheered Jesus on Palm Sunday suddenly turning and chanting “crucify him.” Christ told them what they needed to hear, rather than pandering and the crowd turned on him like rabid dogs. The mob always turns quickly. That is why my participation in politics is drawing to its end.  What should matter most to us is doing what is right, as opposed to what seems popular. My opinion on local politics would not matter more than yours if my wife was not running for office. I choose on occasion to say what I think is true, not because I'm being badgered to do so. I do want to make sure that those simply wanting peace and tranquility in their community do know they are not alone.  

In a small way, I do agree with the person quoted above: "Washington politics and Carlsbad politics have so much in common."  Both places have good and decent people on both sides of the ideological divide.  Both places also feature ignorant and toxic trolls spouting ignorance online. Whatever happens,  I truly do not believe that anyone will need to obsess over my future political plans in Carlsbad. I sincerely doubt that anyone would prostitute themselves to serve pro bono on an obscure commission.  Given my unique perspective on local affairs, I eagerly look forward to my future non-participation in that dynamic commencing on November 7th. If anybody needs a case study in why good and decent people refuse to run for office, and why their loved ones beg them not to, feel free to give me a call. For what I'm writing about here is nothing compared to all I've left out. 

MANY BLESSINGS- NOEL