When he’s not teaching Medieval Islamic History or speaking about American foreign policy, Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of History, David W. Lesch, Ph.D., offers insights on local politics through various local, national, and global news outlets. This week Lesch has a positive take on the way civic leaders are talking about how to patch up budget shortfalls at City Hall–a throwback to bi-partisan conflict resolution he hasn’t seen since the 1990s.
“This environment is fraught with political and cultural differences, now infected by the real threat of political violence,” Lesch writes. “As a result, many people enter a fog of unsettling dissonance, allowing the bastions of the extreme to dominate. All this only exacerbates societal division, discord, ignorance, disillusionment and cultural fragmentation.”
But Lesch is hopeful the recent communal brainstorming over the budget issue has turned the divisive tide. While deciding exactly how the city should proceed with their budget isn’t simple, he adds, the recent public dialogue is at least forming a foundation for a budget decision most parties can get on board with.
Read Lesch’s entire piece here.