The Yin/Yang of Critical Thinking vs. Rose-Colored Glasses in Easton

Sometimes we need to be reminded...

Posted by: Noel Jones


In Terrence Miller's previous post on police statistics (below on this homepage) I tried to respond to commenter Anon 9:20 but my answer turned out to be too long, which is a good indication that it would do better as a post of its own. With regard to the conversation that was developing on the topic of adopting alternative progressive crime reduction strategies, Anon commented:


"Things are looking up, now if our residents would start talking about our good points a little more than our bad points we might start attracting the right people to our neighborhood. It's one thing to be concerned and we all should be but sometimes we are our own worse enemies. Hell if I didn't live here already I wouldn't move here. We need to talk about our positives and address our negatives from within."


And this is my reply that ended up having too many characters to post as a comment:

Anon 9:20~I hear you, and you are posing a debate of both philosophy and strategy that gets hashed out often in the community between neighbors, and between residents and the City sometimes.

Some people think that we should focus on the positive all the time, to highlight what is most attractive about our neighborhood (the historic homes, the walkability, the diversity, the proximity to major cities, the affordable home prices, the creative people here...) thereby attracting more middle-class home-buyers who will then fix up more homes and pay into the tax base and continue to stabilize the neighborhood that way, little by little.

Others think that not addressing our issues as a community is sweeping our neighborhood's problems under the rug to let them fester while we pretend everything is great on the surface, and in fact the problems get worse because the community must first pay attention to find creative ways of solving them.

I tend to think that a mix of both approaches is key to revitalization--that both the critical voices and the positive celebratory voices need to not only be heard, but to listen and respond to each other. I hope this blog achieves this balance of the two, as we have some administrators (and commenters) that focus on problems that need solving, and others that tend to focus on vision (some do both). Creative problem-solving and vision are both crucial to this neighborhood (and Easton at large) and its chances of continuing to make a healthy comeback.

For instance, on this home page alone, we have conversations going about the possibility of passenger rail, progressive methods of crime reduction, a proposed 12% tax hike by the school district, an artists salon, a brand new neighborhood newspaper, an art gallery opening, Lafayette's invitation to have dinner with residents, a Water Works workshop to teach residents how to steward our streams, and then Tim Hare's Gratitude Alphabet, which is always extremely positive and focused on the good stuff of the West Ward.

So, as you can see, there are actually many more positive posts on this home page than critical ones, so I have to wonder if you might be uncomfortable with hearing any criticism at all...some people are uncomfortable with that, and I understand that--constructive debate is tricky, sometimes emotionally challenging stuff--it's an art to be cultivated, the art of being ok with others who don't agree, but beyond that, to really listen to what others are saying without feeling threatened by it if it is unfamiliar, or counter to the perceptions we currently hold. This emotional tension, I believe, is at the core of our country's seeming inability to engage in fruitful debate today, resulting in a very polarized society that can't seem to listen to each other and consider other points of view. People's views tend to get so wrapped up in their sense of identity, that even considering another's point of view can feel like a threat to one's very being, i.e., people of extreme viewpoints who can't seem to listen at all, but instead lob slogans and insults at the other side like a constant barrage of primitive ammunition.

I'm very proud of our readership because 98% of the time, the discourse is civil, even in disagreement, and that there is so much information flowing between residents in the community, that we all learn from each other and start figuring out what we can do together (or as individuals) to take action and improve our neighborhood and our city. The coming street sweeping program is an example of that. So are the two community gardens we planted this year, as well as the improved rapport and cooperation between residents and police.

But I do think it's very important to encourage critical independent constructive thinking (as opposed to complaining, which helps no one) as I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am of the opinion that even criticism is positivity, as long as it is constructive and offers some vision, which Terrence's article does. I feel strongly that Easton suffers from two extremes: 1. cynical complainers who want to see it all go down in flames as a form of validation for their own disappoint in life here, and 2. the compulsion to pretend that everything is great already--that all restaurants here are 5-star, that all art presented is of quality, that it is acceptable for windows in storefronts in our downtown to be cluttered and poorly designed, simply because these businesses have not gone under and left the windows empty. If we tell everyone that everything is already great when its not, we lower the bar for our town until there is no bar left, nothing to strive for, none of the healthy competition that makes a local community and economy thrive.

We need to challenge each other, look our problems in the face and solve them, and then take breaks now and then to have fun and enjoy the beauty of our town and our neighborhood. On a snowy day like today, nothing beats looking out over our hilltops, all those glittering white rooftops in the sun...


I would like to hear from our readers regarding the balance of criticism and positivity on this blog. Too negative? Too positive? Just right? Let us know what you think--the conversation is what it's all about.