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Opinion
N O V E M B E R 4, 2018
Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Signal.
E T H I C A L LY S P E A K I N G
OURVIEW
Floyd, Bloomberg and Hill Rethinking What 'Progress' Represent NYC, Not SCV Means in Today's Society By The Signal Editorial Board
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f you’re old enough, perhaps you remember the TV commercial: Four authentic-looking cowboys, sitting around a campfire, getting ready for some tasty campout vittles. One cowpoke is playing the harmonica, while another dumps the last bit of Pace Picante Sauce onto his plate. The jar is empty. “Floyd, more Pace Picante Sauce!” he hollers across the campfire. “There you go!” Floyd replies, tossing him a jar of red liquid. But it’s not Pace Picante Sauce. It’s an imposter. The country boy points out to Floyd that Pace is made in San Antonio, by folks who know what picante sauce should taste like. Another cowboy grabs the “fake picante sauce” jar and says, “This stuff ’s made in New York City!” Floyd’s three campmates exclaim, “New York City?!?” The scene cuts to the next day, when Floyd is making the return trip from their campout, tied to the trunk of his buddies’ car. That, in a nutshell, is what’s been happening with the financing of the Katie Hill for Congress campaign. Hill’s campaign rhetoric is built on
By David Hegg
the premise that it’s an up-from-thebootstraps grass-roots campaign, and to some extent, judging from the local support she’s receiving, there’s a level of truth to that. But the financing? While the Hill campaign has spent the past several months claiming to eschew “big money” in favor of individual donors, it’s actually all about big money — big, out-of-town money. It turns out that the multimillion-dollar support for Katie Hill was not built in Santa Clarita, or Palmdale, or Lancaster, or any other community within the 25th Congressional District. The big money supporting Katie Hill for Congress isn’t even from San Antonio. A giant chunk of it is from — you guessed it — New York City. New York City?!? Yes, New York City. For starters, that’s where Michael Bloomberg is from. You remember See OUR VIEW, page 22
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almost entitled this column, “Why marketing departments hate history,” but I thought that might be a bit overstated. The truth is our nation has become a society of malcontents, and in large measure it isn’t our fault. We’ve been trained to think wrongly about history, and specifically, we’ve been duped into seeing progress as a stand-alone virtue. Progress is certainly something we all believe is good, and even essential for individuals, families and societies. Who doesn’t want a better life next year, and to leave a better nation to our children? Who doesn’t want better products, healthier food, more efficient systems and new areas of real knowledge? And yet, our dedication to progress as good has caused a serious warp in our thinking. Progress is really just a subset of the study of history, and yet when the new, the latest innovation becomes an end in itself, and is severed from that which has come before, the desire for progress turns into an ugly arrogance. In most fields, the contributions of
those who came before us are honored, and understood as the basic foundations, and necessary steppingstones to the innovations and improvements of today. This is true in the military, where those who fought in past wars are studied, and appreciated for their pioneering efforts. The same is true in the great sports programs as well as the great academic programs of our best universities. They still applaud the discipline, courage and achievement of those who have come before, humbly understanding that their own accomplishments were enabled only as they stood on the shoulders of their predecessors. Even cutting-edge musicians today will gush about those who were major influences on their lives and sound. But, in a consumer-driven society, appreciating the past too much is a problem. The problem is that you may not understand just how much you need to throw out last year’s model to buy the new and improved version. And so the marketing folks have had See HEGG, page 22
READERLETTERS
Protect Water Supply, Yes on 3 California has the world’s fifth largest economy, but that economy cannot continue to grow without ensuring that our aging water infrastructure system is updated. In an era of increased drought and increased water supply volatility, updating our state’s water system is integral to continued economic growth. Proposition 3 takes the right steps to getting us there. California’s recent years of drought followed by an extremely wet winter in 2016-17 have demonstrated the importance for the state to invest in
water management for storage and recycling projects to capture water, as well as flood and dam infrastructure to cope during the wet years. Southern California is reliant on a combination of imported water from Northern California, the Colorado River, and our own groundwater basins, and Proposition 3 makes the investments needed to improve reliability of our imported water, restore local watersheds and help local agencies better manage our limited supplies. The Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) strongly supports YES on Proposition 3, and asks you to join with the business community,
labor, over 100 environmental groups, environmental justice groups, water agencies, the Southern California Water Coalition, and local legislators in support of a clean and reliable water supply through Proposition 3. Stuart Waldman, President Valley Industry and Commerce Association Van Nuys Submit a Letter to the Editor
Include name, address & phone number; Anonymous letters are not printed; Email: letters@signalscv.com; Mail to: Letters to the Editor, The Signal, 26330 Diamond Place, Ste. 100, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.