Democracy is a messy, chaotic and sometimes abortive process.  What is important to remember is that democracy is ALWAYS a work in progress and this movement of change (progress) cannot stop.  We have to keep moving adapting, changing, and evolving.  Democracy can never be stagnant if it is to survive.  Dr. Sonenshein did a great job of showing how LA has always been and still is this work in progress; that even though many people say that “there are no politics in LA” there is democracy churning away in Southern California.

It is important to remember that democracy is about failure and success. LA has not always been successful but no place has.  It seems to be growing and learning from its mistakes.  At least it seems to be through Sonenshein’s eyes.

Two of his ideas were of a particular fascination to me.  The first idea is how LA has always been a nonpartisan place.  The second idea is how LA is hard to govern because it looks more like a monster or a Rorschach blot than a real city.

This idea of an entire region being nonpartisan in such a devotee American culture is fascinating to me.  LA, as far as I have been able to find, in trying to let “the people” and not the parties run the city stands alone.  This idea of “the people” through out most of its modern history has been white people with money; so we can’t pat ourselves on the back to hard.  However, this idea has huge amounts of promise, and that tends to be what we the people have to build on.

The second idea of the oddity of the size and shape of the city relates to the first idea in that is hard to realize a dream/idea with poor organization.  And LA is poorly organized. It was slapped together in a very haphazard manner.  Sonenshein and the City’s new policies of neighborhoods with the possibility of this leading to “self governing Boroughs” could very possibly lead to a better LA and more Democracy for the people of LA.