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| Charles W. Cullen Bridge |
I just ran across the CW Cullen Bridge, a new suspension bridge spanning the Indian River Inlet near my mom's new house in Delaware. Aside from awe at the view and at the feat of engineering, the bridge also awed me as a testament to the collective work, collective decision-making, and collective commitment of the people of this state. Over the past 75 years, the people of Delaware have paid for, planned, and erected five bridges over this inlet, and this one is particularly stunning. Today, on the 4th of July, I am craving reassurance that Americans still value commitment to the public good and are still capable of working together for the benefit of
all of our citizens.
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| The bridge, illuminated at night, is visible from Mom's deck. |
This place that I'm in, surrounded by Delaware Seashore State Park, is one of the places where
our tax dollars work. And it reminds me, as the Douglas State Forest reminds Pierce, that "there are things we all own together." And that they're worth valuing and worth defending. For as Pierce points out, "We are deciding, in 100 different ways, whether or not a political
commonwealth is actually something we can afford any more. The
conversation is going on out of earshot, but it is the low murmur behind
dozens of different decisions being made as regards budgets and
spending and, of course, The Deficit, which is many things, but most
egregiously, it is an alibi for selling off our national birthright
piecemeal . . . " Contrary to the dominant discourse, these are decisions - not necessary sacrifices. It is a decision
in Pennsylvania to invite Shell oil to help itself to our state's natural resources while systematically starving the schools and libraries of Philadelphia. It is a decision to
give Philly students 20% less state funding than the students in neighboring school districts. These may not seem like decisions - because no one asked us - but our representative bodies are quietly making these choices for us. And I fear that they will quietly dismantle our entire commonwealth if we don't find new, more forceful ways to speak up.
