Transit Strike

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Tuesday, 12/20/05, about 9:15 A.M.

Normally, the stairway is packed at this hour.  I've walked down these steps thousands of times. New York's subway system is 24/7, and aside from 9/11, the last time that this gate was locked was 25 years ago - the last Transit Workers Union Strike.

New York lives and thrives on public transit, so the city was a bit eerie today.  It was emptier and quieter. It was a cold morning, and I'm sure it wasn't a lot of fun to walk those miles in order to get to work. Many stayed home, hoping the strike would be resolved quickly. The scenario will change each day that the strike goes on. In his press conference, our angry Mayor let us know how a strike like this harms the city, and how no one ever wins a strike like this. He is right.

At the same time - there is some fun. Certain Wall Street types thought that they were way cool to be able to wear jeans to work, as they rollerbladed and skateboarded downtown early this morning. (And they were)

It seems a silly cliche, but challenges like this do seem to bring out the best in New Yorkers.  Two reasons jump to mind as to why people here are able to get along so well in times of real difficulty:

1. At moments like this, our leaders tend to be honest.  Many of our Mayors have been deceptive about lots of things, lot of times, but even Giulilani was honest in dealing with 9/11. Not in his later revisionist history, but in the days immediately after the attack - we could trust him. They tell us what they know, and they tell us what they do not know.
2. A culture of shared sacrifice is quickly established.  The crisis is not used as a political weapon. Since Brooklyn residents are going to have to walk across a bridge to get to work, the Mayor is going to walk as well.  He's going to spend the night on a cot in a city building in Brooklyn Heights, and join those without a choice in the dark of the next morning.  Our mayor has enormous resources - both public and personal. It would be easy for him to fly over the problem. He could have eschewed public transport, and spent his own money flying his helicopter from his home to City Hall. But he knew that a leader does not view the pain of his constituents from a helicopter, nor from Air Force 1.

There are many things that I like about my Mayor, and many that I don't.  But to compare him to our President - where there is no honesty about our involvement in Iraq, and no shared sacrifice - is to learn what a small man George Bush is.

Comments

[Carla]

Hi George, please let us know if you receive this. Thanks!