Boston’s new local weather plan is an excellent illustration of the connection between activism and politics (“Boston drafts climate program,” Metro, Aug. 5). Politics — famously outlined because the artwork of the potential — is inherently incremental, in-built small steps over time. Good politicians derive their energy from the negotiations and compromises that deliver giant and various pursuits collectively.
Activism, in contrast, is an expression of immediacy in response to a urgent and unambiguous want. Good activists derive their energy from resisting compromise and refusing to desert the ethical authority of conscience.
The work of excellent governance is to steadiness conscience and compromise, urgency and increment. As environmental chaos intensifies, we’d like politicians and activists on the identical web page, preventing to guard our metropolis and our society. Town’s 62-page draft local weather plan makes it clear that in a time of uncertainty and hazard, Mayor Michelle Wu and her group have discovered the candy spot.
