Monty Python perspective

A comedic rant against the Roman occupation of Palestine (what is now Israel) was part of a movie scene in “Life of Brian” during which Judeans sought to displace the Romans. The classic Monty Python movie tells the story of Brian, who was born in Bethlehem in a stable next door to you-know-who. Brian’s life is a series of adventures revolving around the belief he is the Messiah.

The Judean leader embarked on the rant to begin a meeting of revolters. He angrily notes that the Romans have oppressed them and their fathers for centuries.

“And what have they ever given us in return?” the leader rhetorically quizzes in an effort to gin up anti-Roman sentiment among the group.

“The aqueduct?” is a quick and surprising answer.

“And the sanitation,” another supposed anti-Roman Judean volunteers with a clear mix of certainty and admiration.

And then the group originally fired up to lead a revolt against the Romans begins rattling off a long list of Roman benefits.

Frustrated, the group’s leader attempts to stifle what amounts to a celebration of Roman accomplishments: “Alright, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”

The perspective within this particular silly humor of the Monty Python troupe — humor being a great vehicle in which to transport perspective — has of late been a frequent guest during the observation and consideration of the many rants at Fort Smith board meetings and the comments posted on The City Wire.

We in Fort Smith are home to a small cadre of the enjoyable angry and their angry joiners. These folks find great pleasure in posing publicly to persuade us peasants that our city government is corrupt, inefficient, both, or worse. Their constant and ALL CAPS missives replete with any number of half-truths, innuendo and 2+2=5 logic is more than enough to gather the angry joiners who are so deliriously angry at the federal boys (and maybe rightfully so) that an unhealthy portion of that anger blankets city government.

What gets lost in this noise and unnecessary drama are areas in which the city has and continues to perform well. The following points of progress for which the city has performed above and beyond was created after just a few minutes of research. Please know the following list is not intended to persuade the enjoyable angry and the angry joiners. They refuse to let data and research steal their joy, and I have never found joy in squelching anyone’s joy, regardless of its source. This is not meant to provoke, either. There are two things the enjoyable angry do not require: facts and provocation.

On to the list.

• We have possibly the best street infrastructure among cities the size of Fort Smith. And we did this, using our 1% street tax, on a pay-as-you-go basis. When folks say the city should be run more like a business, well, here you go.

• The Fort Smith region has access to a clean, long-term water supply. Again, the citizens — not the “evil” board of directors or Mayor Ray Baker — stepped up with a sales tax and higher water rates to give the region a water supply of which many metro areas in the nation can only dream.

• We are home to a modern and long-term landfill. Talk to any sanitation expert and they’ll tell you the Fort Smith area is sitting pretty with its trash. Also, the sanitation department uses a sinking fund instead of debt to pay for future expansions. When someone says the city should be run more like a business, well, here you go.

• And then there is our modern, accessible and professional library system. Its initial development was from citizens who voted for a temporary sales tax. Enough said.

• Thank goodness for quality police and fire departments. They have new public safety and public services communications system that are state-of-the-art, and feature interoperability among city departments and other agencies.

• Our city partnered with Sebastian County to construct a new courts building. It consolidates all court operations into one location, which is more efficient for employees and citizens, and reduces the maintenance and operations cost of scattered offices. When someone says the city should be run more like a business, well, here you go.

• Your city took a leading role in helping create the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority. For folks who believe local governments should do more to work together to maximize resources, well, here you go.

• City officials played important roles in landing and/or retaining more than 1,200 jobs related to Gerber, Graphic Packaging, Mars PetCare, Mitsubishi and Umarex. Also, that city street tax we mentioned earlier helped create the infrastructure that made Chaffee Crossing appealing to several of these companies. When folks say the city should do more to be pro-business, well, here you go.

• The city’s long-term infrastructure planning and construction helped push residential growth at Riley Farm, subdivisions at Chaffee Crossing, Geren Road subdivisions, Rye Hill/Howard Hill area subdivisions, and the Texas Road area south of Cavanaugh. When folks say the city should do more to be pro-business, well, here you go.

Does the city have a few problems? Sure. Probably more than a few. Past and present city board members ought to be taken behind the woodshed for letting this convention center thing fester for 10 years. City staff involved in permitting and approving commercial and residential construction could and should be a lot more considerate of the entrepreneurial guys and gals who have their financial asses on the line.

Also, the city board should behave like a board of directors instead of a schizophrenic board of nitpickers — which is to say they should quit micromanaging top city staff and quit issuing new damn directives every time they fancy upon what they think is a good idea.

Then there was that nonsense where for more than two decades the city board ignored federal orders to fix the sewer system. And we can’t forget this nonsense with the city bailing out The Park at West End. So it has a Ferris Wheel. Big fricking deal. Did we really need to bail out a park that attracted 20,000 or so people a year? The City Wire electronically gathers up more than 20,000 people in WAY less than a month. Do we get a bailout from the city if things don’t work out? I didn’t think so.

And my growing rant begs the question: “Alright, but apart from the sanitation, the public order, the library system, roads, job creation, residential development, the fresh water system and public health, what has the city ever done for us?”