Behind the times

Tonight, as I do most nights, I was watching my local news and one of the stories, yet again, focused on the future of San Antonio's public transit system. It's sad and heartbreaking to see such news because for the last two decades, the city has been proposing a new transit system, much like that of our nation's "big cities." The city is constantly proposing a modern light-rail system, yet the public seems to shoot it down every time. WTF is wrong with this place? Are we that behind the times? YES, we are in fact! What the hell are people so afraid of, and we all know that by people, I'm talking about all the old people in this old town! Are they afraid of a higher taxes? Give it the fuck up! This is still one of the least expensive cities in the U.S. to live and raise a family. If you wanna evolve in an ever-evolving world, then you have to be willing to catch up to the rest of the planet. I feel like even some third-world countries have surpassed us in some areas. How sad is that? Every day, I hear about friends wanting to leave this place, which I have called home for quite some years now. When they say it's boring, I tell them: Find something to do! There's so much going on here. When they say this place is not evolving fast enough, I have no argument. Just the other day, I was driving away from downtown and I happened to look through my rear view mirror at our downtown skyline. The sad part: There wasn't much of one. Unlike other major cities with blocks and blocks of high rise buildings, ours are far and few in between. I'm sure most natives (again, the older generation) think it's what gives our city character, but it's also why it lacks it.

Think about it: A modern day transit hub with public transportation to include streetcars, buses, and trains going every which way in the city you can possibly think of. It would make things so much faster and easier. I mean really, how attractive is it to drive down San Pedro and see an old woman waiting for the bus, that may or may not pass every 20 minutes if she's lucky, in triple-digit-weather. It's not attractive at all. In fact, if anything, it's just plain sad. I know the people waiting on those buses work their asses off everyday to get to and from work on that overcrowded bus at all hours of the day/night. It would be so much nicer if we had a better/faster transit system to get them back and forth. Let's just think about it for a moment. When "we" as a city, say "no" to projects like this, we're simply being selfish to those who actually use public transportation. So stop being a selfish dick, and do something about it! We owe it to our city, to our community, to our neighbors. I've said my part, now do the right thing next time this issue comes up for debate. Someone will thank you for it.