In L.A., Political Representation Isn’t Enough
In Los Angeles, our highest aspirations used to involve the struggle to obtain a share of the power, so that we Angelenos and our different dreams would be protected and included, not excluded. Today,...
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Capturing Queer America, 30 Years After Mapplethorpe
In classic gay coming-of-age stories, the small-town misfit escapes to the big city—the bigger the better. Robert Mapplethorpe left his home in Floral Park, Queens for art school in Brooklyn and then...
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Who Gets to Represent a Richer South L.A.?
There is more opportunity in South Los Angeles now. You can see it in the houses, in the development, in the grocery stores finally arriving, in the people who—as I did several years ago—decided to...
View ArticleMuch Like Alcohol, Democracy Is Best in Moderation
The open secret of democracy is that it works because it doesn’t quite work as advertised. Representative democracies do not simply impose the will of the people. They over-perform, producing better...
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Why Washington, D.C., Is the Most Undemocratic of Capitals
Every year about 20 million tourists come to Washington, D.C., to visit the marble monuments of American freedom and democracy. Few of them, however, realize that the 680,000 permanent residents of the...
View ArticleCan Democracy Be an Agent of Both Power and Goodness?
Of all the political words that trip off our tongues yet bedevil understanding, one of the most important is “democracy.” Strictly translated, it signifies authoritative power (kratos) by the citizenry...
View ArticleWhat If Everyday People Ran Los Angeles?
If the crisis in American democracy had a capital, it would be Los Angeles. And if American democracy is going to be saved, that rescue needs to start in Southern California. This may come as news to...
View ArticleWhy Progressives (and Conservatives) Don’t Get Democracy—And Why They Should
Twenty-five years ago, a city manager looked at me gravely and said, “I’m not a big fan of unbridled democracy.” I had just suggested ways that she could engage large, diverse numbers of people in a...
View ArticleNo One in Monterey County Is Good Enough to Serve in the Legislature
Monterey County is home to Big Sur, Carmel, a world-class aquarium, the planet’s most beautiful golf course, half of America’s lettuce, and more than 437,000 people. But Monterey County isn’t home to...
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