Cultural Creatives

To keep the record straight, I would not consider myself a cultural creative. I would say that I come from a traditionalist background, and have been extremely conservative in most to all things. It makes for a strange dynamic for me on a Bay Area campus, but find peace in that and "that's how I roll."

I see where things are going, and can definitely understand the frustrations of people having to deal in a system that is crushed by its own bureaucracy, that represses good ideas, and requires that every minute detail be approved by a board or group who could only care it it profits them in the end.

Take California for example. To get projeccts through, we require that developers pay through the roof because the current taxpayers have revolted against paying for the common good, and we have set up a system by which it takes millions of dollars and years to get projects pushed through. So, the little guys get squeezed because they cant afford the 13 permits that are required to open shop, or the cost of bureaucracy has priced them after a minute. Or the cops have shut down a little girl's lemonade stand because it is not a permitted use in residential zones and she failed to obtain a business license and sellers permit.

We have gone so far from Euclidian zoning principles that we have just killed off creative attempts. People promote green, but in the economic downturn can't afford the capital to invest in sustaining technologies. Those that don't know how to navigate the system get shut down on teh first trip to City Hall. There must be an avenue in which the government can function effectively, and the cultural creatives can shine. In my city, that will be something that I will look to do, but it may be an uphill battle.