If the personality and profile of City Councilman Thomas Small could be multiplied nationally, a startling, warm, unprecedented political peace would descend like an enormous veil across the entire American span.
More Thomas Smalls would convince liberals and conservatives to engage in a daily group hug. They would be writing volumes of bi-partisan laws.
Although Mr. Small’s liberal beliefs are deeply held, an unquenchable thirst for consensus drives his political engine.
Men and women holding strongly opposing views would work as snugly together as the hundreds of bristles that form the sweeping part of a broom.
The icing on this cake is that Mr. Small articulates his thought with an elegance that seldom visits political venues large or small.
While passage of a polystyrene ban was heavily favored going into last evening’s meeting, there were almost as many competing factions as there are broom bristles.
Enter Mr. Small’s governing philosophy.
“Tonight will be successful,” he said from the dais a moment before the start, “because we are going to demonstrate how well we work together, how we are making progress on even stronger collaboration.”
Both public and private discussions about polystyrene have been held – and data researched – to the point of exhaustion. Differences of opinion sprouted – but never to the point of war.
“We are all headed in the same direction now,” Mr. Small said, and that is how the emotional drama to ban anti-environmental polystyrene played out.
Mr. Small was asked if he favored a ban or a more nuanced approach.
“All of the above,” he replied.
And there was peace across the land.
