We congratulate Rushern L. Baker III on his entry to office as County Executive of Prince George's County. You can follow the Inaugural festivities at the Baker Inaugural Web Page. Baker has long promoted transparency and accountability in government for the County. THIS election it seems that voters heard the message and embraced it, bringing Baker to victory.
We don't want to rain on the Inaugural parade. Baker and thousands of activists have worked hard for change and deserve to take time to acknowledge and celebrate the outcome. Celebrating milestones like this is how activists keep the fire of activism stoked and burning. It is easy to get demoralized and discouraged when we fail to recognize a task accomplished.
And still, very serious issues face Baker and all of us who live and work in the County. There is more work to be done than will likely be completed in many months - even years. It is urgent work and needs to be begun just as quickly as possible. I've been told that Mr. Baker is a bit impatient, and that is a good thing, under the current circumstances.
While the Transition Team seems to be focussing on the Big Picture, we all need to keep all of the steps along this Path moving forward. It's not just about our schools and education system, or about jobs, jobs, jobs. Holistically approaching education and workforce issues means identifying what people really want and need out of their community and their government.
People who need jobs still need to be important to their neighbors and the community. And young people deserve high quality teaching and educational systems, but they, too, want to be valued in their peer groups and by their parents and the community. While we work on instituting the major changes in programs in education, we need to agree that changes in programs such as animal control ARE CRUCIAL to changing our culture. This is because unemployed workers and teens and young children can, and should, be supported to love and look after community animals, dogs and cats who otherwise need to be handled by our County government!
The unrecognized attitude that if you are poor, or unemployed, or too young, you cannot own a pet, or do not deserve to be allowed to care for an animal, needs to be articulated and carefully debated. It's not serving our County. It is creating a culture of disregard for life of every kind. An animal will listen to your woes, and never tell a single soul what you said. Animals can rely on people who have very little to offer in some respects. But what animals can do for us as a community is to help identify the good impulses, and the higher character, of people we might assume don't have them. And that will change our culture.
It isn't such a small thing, after all. I hope that with the change in administration, we will take time for these "small things" that lead to true greatness.
