Commentary : Saving County’s Quality of Life

As a shocked nation stood dazed and dumbfounded in the midst of the Depression, a wise Franklin D. Roosevelt summoned our individual courage with the admonition, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

This famous exhortation exemplifies not the politician, but the true leader in FDR. It also offers important counsel for all of us in Orange County as we deal with our county’s growth.

For it is the fears of our hearts that allow politicians to exploit our minds--and our checkbooks--and turn those resources into “power”: the ultimate aphrodisiac of all politicians.

Here in California, examples exist on both sides of the partisan aisle. As a Republican senator, H. L. Richardson is renowned for raising millions of dollars by instilling in gun enthusiasts the fear that at any moment their arms may be seized by the acts of liberal legislators, leaving their homes and families defenseless against undefined threats. On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Sen. David Roberti has attempted to similarly swell his campaign coffers, exploiting the fears of dedicated animal lovers by preaching that conservative legislators will allow research technicians to break down their doors and kidnap their dogs and cats for hideous tests and nightmarish experiments. Both are important issues. And their spokesmen are master politicians using legitimate issues to create political power.

No issue is more important in Orange County than growth. No issue engenders more speculation and parochial fears than growth. No issue is more exploited.

Growth touches all of us: Our homes, jobs, schools, parks and neighborhoods.

Advocates of growth hail it as the catalyst to an unparalleled “quality of life.” They contend that without growth, our booming economy will go bust. You will lose your job, your home and become engulfed in traffic.

Antagonists of growth deplore “outsiders” (new residents) invading our county; more smog-coughing cars clogging our streets; more densely-developed housing, office buildings and shopping centers replacing agricultural lands. In short, your quality of life will be destroyed.

In the politics of growth, if you allow the rhetoric of either advocates or antagonists to paralyze you with fear, one conclusion is immediately clear: Your quality of life is in deep trouble!

Citizen participation founded this nation and continues to make this country great. And nowhere is there a more educated, informed or active a citizenry than here in Orange County. But the rhetoric of growth strikes at the heart of our parochial interests and sometimes selfish fears--”my” neighborhood and “my” quality of life. It discriminates and divides instead of unites.

If we are truly to preserve our “quality of life,” we must first rid ourselves of the rhetoric on both sides of the growth issue and summon up the courage against the overly simplistic fears that so easily paralyze us. We must realize that growth is neither entirely good nor wholly bad but, in fact, is in part healthy, in part inevitable, and in part carries with it some very harmful byproducts that must be mitigated.

Growth is not the issue: how we positively cooperate together to mitigate its byproducts is the issue. Misleading rhetoric causes the true issues to be overlooked: They are ground transportation, airports, quality affordable housing and the preservation of permanent open space.

Each of us must develop a broader perspective beyond “my” home, “my” place of employment or even “my” city to foster the regional cooperation needed to accommodate opposing points of view.

Only if cities, communities and individuals work together will we ever fully protect and retain the quality of life. Others can be welcome here, transportation can flow smoothly, quality housing and long-term job security can be available while still retaining permanent open-space areas to preserve the rich heritage of our past.

The answer lies in the calm, objective reasoning of everyone working together to resolve critical issues on a regional, rather than parochial, basis.

The future of Orange County is indeed unlimited. But back in what I sometimes think were happier days, I was told as a basketball player at UC Irvine that there are two things you can say to truly hurt an athlete. The first is that he’s lazy. Orange County can never be accused of that. The second is that the athlete has “potential.” Yes, Orange County has potential. Potential that is beginning to be realized. Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach are shining lights of artistic and cultural disciplines. UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton are likewise hallmarks of educational excellence. Buena Park, Anaheim and Newport Beach are recreational centers for the nation and even the world. Santa Ana and Irvine are becoming regional employment centers for thriving public and private sector businesses. Each of our county’s 26 cities and unincorporated areas have something special to offer.

Together we make an outstanding county. And to fulfill our unlimited potential we only have to follow FDR’s counsel to summon our individual courage and our collective resources to meet the challenge before us, knowing we have nothing to fear but fear itself.