Citizens For A Lesser United States

I read an article in the paper today about a grass-roots movement calling themselves "Citizens for a Lesser Seattle." The basic idea is organizing to stop "luxuries" for their city, like a new basketball arena and put it towards things like salaries for police officers or better salaries for teachers. There's also another group called "Citizens for More Important Things."

I'm sure the issues aren't that simple and clear-cut. Don't get me wrong, I know that some things make tremendous amounts of money and to do that you have to spend tremendous amounts of money. And sometimes you can't measure the value of a sports franchise or underground tunnel to ease traffic in dollars alone...because it is valuable as an "identity" or it makes the citizenry feel good about their town.

But I like the basic idea. Businesses are fueled by the idea that they need to focus on the most important thing their business does well and continue to find ways to do that better rather than diversify. Families do the same thing: Find their priorities and utilize their budget and make decisions based on those realities.

So, I'm in on their general premise.

But our task today, Diner patrons, is to answer the question one of three ways. What do we do to have a "less is more" mindset about our...

...country and/or
...our city and/or
...our church.

For me, about the country, I'd rather spend all the money we put into the space program and channel all that effort into alternative energy sources.

For my city, I wish we'd focus more on the arts (outside the high school system--which seems to be doing a good job). You know, have more places for musicians to play or painters to display their work or actors to act...rather than find new ways to cram big-box retailers into the "master plan." There's got to be some sense of balance there where the homeowners could get tax relief while at the same time committing to "quality of life."

For our church, I think we'd do well to spend our money at least 50/50 on building relationships and meeting people "where they are" rather than on what I "need to grow." It really isn't about "me" or "us" when it comes right down to it.

So, now, Citizens for A Lesser Diner, have at it...