Hey, back from a brief July 4th sabbatical, did you miss me. Did get a chance to check in on our newspaper's Web site from time to time. Always a good chance to get annoyed.
I'm normally not prone to publicy taking a stand on
the comments of our Web site readers. More often than not, I
simply shrug off their diatribes and try to refresh my
drained intellectual capcity with an old TV rerun of "Kids
Say The Darndest Things."
But there are times when the ramble that spills out
of the comments demands at least a slight rebuttal if not a
figurative hearty slap to the head. Last week was a perfect
example when one individual cited poor planning in the
location of the Platte Valley Medical Center and suggested
that the old sheriff's office property, among other prime
Brighton locations, may have been a better choice.
We can all rightfully question the state of health
care in our country right now (Michael Moore encourages you
to) but questioning the foresight of PVMC leaders in choosing
the new hospital's spot is an argument that holds about as
much water as a leaky bucket.
But it did get me thinking about the identity crisis
rife in this town right now. Obviously, this reader's opinion
that the store room of the Dairy Queen would have been as
just a good spot for the hospital as the massive expanse of
land at I-76 and Bromley is not so much about providing
Brighton quality healthcare facilities as it is about
ignoring the change happening here.
On any given day, Brighton is a town at war with
itself:
We desperately want to conceal our image as a bedroom
community of Denver but name the last piece of marketing
material that didn't tout this city's close proxmity to
Denver?
If you're a regular visitor to our Web site, you will
see a daily vial of hate directed at both Hispanics and
illegal immigrants but we're a community built on the
hardwork of immigrant farmers and migrant workers.
We want to invest millions of dollars in the revival
of our downtown area but we're building a massive retail
complex on the east side so presumably people will go there
instead.
We court growth but we loathe growth.
We support education but we'll be darned if the
school district thinks its going to squeeze another tax
dollar out of us.
Stuck in between is a population that really doesn't
know each other. We have new residents who hop on I-76 to
work every morning and don't even know there is a downtown in
need of arrival. We have some longtime residents who still
think life ends around 27th Avenue and Bridge Street. You can
see why the idea of a hospital way on the other side of town
lacks appeal to some especially when it forces
acknowledgement that this town is markedly different than it
was five years, 10 years ago, 20 years ago.
What is this community? What does it stand for? It
depends on who you talk to.
Logic would tell you that, at some point, these two
sides need to reconcile themselves so Brighton can grow and
move forward as one community.
