Having dealt with almost all aspects of the media for more years than I care to admit, the one thing that one quickly comes to understand is the importance of reducing your thoughts to short, concise statements. Unfortunately as I age the mind isn't as sharp or as fast as it once was. That came into focus a few weeks back while filming with the CBS Sunday Morning show at the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum. They had asked what made Sun City different? As I am want to do, I rambled on, never once thinking about how much of the clip would end up on air. My mind tends to work overtime, especially when I know I haven't nailed what I was trying to convey as well as I should have. As I pondered, it all came to me, crystal clear and in a fraction of the time I explained why we were unique. I did shoot off an email to the on air host, no idea if he even got it, but let me try out my "sound bite" on you and see if this makes any sense at all: Sun City is different from the rest of the world because we put community before corporation, because we put people before politics. While it is short and sweet, it amplifies just the opposite of what is going on around us in the country. It's why Sun City is such a great place to live.
I think you woke up with puppies, bunnies and rainbows floating around in your head. I would like to think your quote was how things are but I would use the words "I would like to think....." ahead of your sentence. I'm a 3rd generation Sun Citian with my grandparents purchasing a home in 1964. There is no place I'd rather spend my retirement years than here given the amenities for physical activities, learning, medical facilities and entertainment. I can afford to live in Sun City and feel safer than in other communities the same size.
I always awaken with those kinds of thoughts in my head aggie (said with a smile). Interesting to note; a good friend of mine is in the process of reading the two Sun City newspapers from opening day 1960. They are on file at the state archives and it is positively frightening how much rancor and ill will there was in those first handful of years. He is also chronologically sending me his findings, absolutely fascinating reading. What we enjoy today is indeed puppies, bunnies and rainbows compared to the battles they went through in the beginning. Perhaps it's all because Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet and blogs weren't available to share ideas, thoughts and concerns eh?
What is interesting about the net is it becomes the great equalizer. We had this discussion a hundred times in the old days when we used it to poke the pig with the stick. Literally people who have all the power (and the money) have endless options when it comes to putting out their propaganda. For those on the short end of the stick, they were limited to standing on a soapbox and hoping someone stopped to listen. That all changed the day the internet became a public forum with miniscule cost to create a website and engage people. No question there are often missuses and clearly faults with unbridled "free speech." If you followed my Sun Cities Today blog, the last three or four entries were a sad departure from its intended use. I had gotten involved with a website run by the Independent newspaper. It turned out to be a fiasco of immense proportion and I helped make it worse. I think I got kicked off 8 times. If someone didn't like what you wrote they complained and you got booted. Mercifully it's been taken down. That said, I think all things considered, the net is an added value for being able to express ones opinions, concerns and thoughts. Yes you can get caught up in the stupid of people, and yes there are abuses of free speech, but there's no question in my mind all of us "little people" are better off because of it being a platform we can step on. Just my not so humble opinion.
