Manhattan, NY, Two Police Officers Die, New Mayor Vows Change
In the moment it was riveting. The new mayor of NYC, Eric Adams, vowed to make change. This was on last Friday. A young police officer was killed and a second injured, then days later passed. At the initial response on Friday, Adams says “It is us against the killers.” Nice idea. Spoken with conviction. But what has he actually done thus far to ensure this kind of thing will not happen again? He has so far been pushing for a safety program to be reinstated, but many oppose it. Will he be successful at actually curbing violence? Someone gets shot pretty much weekly, within a few blocks radius of where I live with my wife and our daughter. Will Addams be effective at stopping this?
Why Do Most Politicians Not Do What They Were Elected to Do?
Sadly, in this terrific country, the USA, we elect politicians to make a difference and most never do. This site is about “making a difference,” and unlike most of us, ironically, politicians actually get paid (and well I might add) to make a difference but do not! Why? Is it because their coffers are subsidized by special interest? Are there other monetary opportunities behind the scenes we do not know about, that entice them into doing nothing? Or are they just plain awful at their jobs, but good at lying about what they will accomplish if elected? In other other words are they:
Good at getting elected.
But bad at their job?
Taking Steps to Steps Not Taken
Politicians here in NYC have been promising for years to curb violence in the greatest city in the world. Unfortunately, as is to be expected, not much has occurred in the form of actual action steps taken. It’s like the old riddle:
Q: How can you tell if a politician is lying?
A: Their mouth is moving.
Taking On Transformation in Manhattan and the Burroughs
Regarding the taking on of violence here in our city, to be fair, navigating through the special interest in any politics is not easy. The hope of voters with each new official we the people bring into being, is that the individual will somehow be not encumbered by their own personal paydays, yet at the same time, have enough influence to make a difference.
The Blockade Known as Catch 22
It is a true Catch 22 of course, in which a politician’s momentum to create change is in direct proportion to the amount to their price to keep politics as usual in place. Increase one, and the there is a diminishing of the other, and vice versa. So, it is difficult to say whether or not our new mayor Eric Adams is going to be effective at all.