First published in the Sept. 29 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
Albert Einstein’s dictum, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result,” fits perfectly into the narrative of California and La Cañada politics.
Our small town has for some time been immune to the rapid decline in the quality of life in California, but no longer. Like cancer, eventually the disease metastasizes and the entire body is sick. The disease of failed governance, bad policy and overbearing government has finally reached La Cañada.
A school district in decline, taken over by leftist ideologues; constant traffic; loitering, crazed and drugged homeless; and a forced, “housing element” straight out of centrally planned economies like China and the former Soviet Union.
Who’s to blame? Well, you are, if you vote Democrat.
Three decades of leftist, irresponsible, immature Democrat politicians and the voters who put them in office have resulted in a total collapse in our quality of life save for the very wealthiest amongst us.
At least we’ll have pickleball. One must have priorities, you know.
It bears repeating. Expecting change by voting in the same people with the same, failed ideologies cannot, and will not, make things better.
But people won’t. They’ll vote for Democrats while the rest of us listen to them whine about the housing element; whine about homelessness; whine about traffic; whine about crime; utterly incapable of making the connection between the problems beginning to plague La Cañada, and the low-quality Democrat politicians they put into office year after year.
Meanwhile, we’ll manage while we plan our move out of California as many have already. Perhaps in 10 or 20 years we’ll come back to visit. Startled, but not surprised to see how La Cañada turned into a congested, squalid suburb of Los Angeles rather than the unique gem in the foothills it once was. While our Democrat friends and former neighbors whine about all the apartments, whine about traffic on Foothill …
Marcus Johanssen
La Cañada Flintridge
