One of the things I love about doing this blog is sitting here in my little corner of Vermont, poking around the net and finding terrific writers and their writing, all while also finding out what’s being done in other places to deal with bureaucratic problems.  What I came across a little while ago was like hitting a jackpot.  Don’t know how I’ve missed this guy’s books and columns so far, but I’m glad to have stumbled upon his column of today.

Something Happening Here by Jim Schutze is in today’s Dallas Observer. Reasons I was favorably impressed:

• Not the meatiest reason, but a reason nonetheless, is that Schutze is a columnist for the Dallas Observer.  Dad was a columnist for the Charlotte Observer, so the positive association was there from the git-go.
• Schutze identifies himself early on as an “ultra, off-the-charts liberal.” Sounds like home.
• Schutze writes of meeting a fellow for lunch who is an “ultra, off-the-charts conservative.”  That’s a good way to be.  Having friends whose politics are very different from our own contributes to things like careful thinking, constructive dialog, give and take, recognition of common ground, and valuing good hearts no matter what their politics.  That way we’re less likely to succumb to the violent impulses readily indulged by those who fancy themselves guardians of sometime ill-conceived “purity.”
• Schutze is a superb writer. He tells a story that invites readers to think about things, and to think in ways, they probably wouldn’t have were it not for reading his piece.

Along with all that, there’s who and what he writes about.  I won’t spoil the story for you, but I will say that while I wouldn’t want to be the target of some of the less pleasant, um, explications of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, I cannot overstate my appreciation for any politician who believes that competence is more important than party lines.  It’s very heartening to read about, and too rare to encounter.

Beyond all those things, Schutze writes about matters of race and racialization with a depth that doesn’t often accompany the items I filter through having to do with bureaucracy, and most especially without the mind-numbing, anger-mongering sensationalism that usually accompanies those topics in the vast majority of American media–liberal, conservative, mainstream or not.  (Remember the recently cited WSJ story?)  Ah…no wonder, I see as I dig a little further through Google about Mr. Schutze.  He’s been writing about race and racializing for a long time, and has received more than a few awards for his writing.

So go read Schutze, here.

Peace.

Deborah Alicen