A Tail of Two Cities

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us… .” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

O.K. We’re not living through the French Revolution, upon which Dickens’ famous novel is based, nor do I sense another one on the horizon. But civic dichotomies; that is, the best of times and the worst of times often do happen within lifetimes. Dubuque is doing well. We are paying attention to new opportunities for growth. We are sincerely addressing issues of hospitality—for all people. These are good things and difficult matters that require significant cooperation, patience, humility and determination across aisles and within neighborhoods. So I do have to admit that I was more than a little perplexed by all the energy surrounding the recent dog park controversy. Really? Dog parks?

I like dogs. In fact, I love dogs. When George died a year ago, I cried almost as hard as I did the time we lost our first Boston. I believe that dogs are about as close as we humans will come to experiencing unconditional love. And so I imagine that, when things are going well, such as they are in our community, there is a tendency to prioritize amenities like dog parks to supplement our overall regional experience. I understand that temptation.

The problem is there are other priorities we need to be thinking about to make our community even stronger as we prepare for the next inevitable downturn in economic fortune. No, I’m not that guy who places lumps of coal in Christmas stockings, but I do encourage prudence, like long-term CD’s. Like it or not, I am in the business of mitigating risk while also discerning new opportunities for growth that benefit other humans.

Therefore, we might consider prioritizing the following:

Education: Pre-K-12. Folks, we’re falling further behind;

Higher Education: I have a practice of meeting with nearly every first year student early in the fall semester. One of the things I learned this year is that students come to us because we are more affordable than their home states of New York, California, and Illinois. We’re also safe and friendly;

Brain Health: Let Dubuque be the community that shows the rest of Iowa how to reach out to our neighbors—early—so that interventions, diagnosis, treatment, and brain health management becomes normative rather than an occasional happy anecdote;

Dignity and Opportunity: As Arthur Brooks illustrates in his new book, Love Your Enemies, millions of Americans no longer feel needed—by their families, their communities, the economy, or their country. Generally, people don’t want handouts. We mostly want to be treated with dignity.

I still remember a student that graduated from our University years ago. After Commencement, he was sitting on the Quad staring in the distance.

“Do you hear that?” he said to me.

“Hear what?” I said, “I don’t hear a thing.”

“That’s my point,” he said. “No sirens. No gunshots. Just the Bell tower. I’m staying here.”

And he did. He is a productive citizen who now has a family, pays property taxes, and is giving back to the community that gave him opportunity, and treated him with dignity.

Dignity and opportunity can be the lasting tale of this city—for humans and for those that love them unconditionally.

 

Originally published in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.