Take time to appreciate our city
Life is pretty good here in Irvine. It’s a great place to raise a family, go to school, play a sport, ride a bike, take a hike and have a meal. We have a fiscally responsible municipal government, a healthy local economy, safe neighborhoods, great public schools, a diverse and highly educated populace, cutting-edge business and tech centers, and the intellectual, scientific and cultural vigor that a world-class university brings us.
It’s a place that draws individuals and families from across the state, nation and the world. In Irvine, generations of residents have pivoted their family’s fortunes toward a better future.
Those of us who work, live, and study here are fortunate. So why is everybody always complaining?
Social media and online forums are filled with angry messages and responses, some of which are regrettably personal attacks between those who are neighbors, if not neighborly. Campaign signs are up.
We get it. There are important issues facing the city upon which reasonable minds might differ. And there are those who enjoy riling things up, or believe they benefit from doing the same.
But sometimes we wish we could do so with a bit more civility. Here’s a suggestion: Let’s take a minute. Turn off our phones. Close our laptops. It’s time to lift our collective heads and look around. We live in a special place. Schools are exceptional. Roadways are clean. Parks and open space plentiful and safe. Bike and walking trails stretch for miles. This is Irvine, this is why multiple magazines claim our city as one to appreciate, emulate and enjoy.
Let’s stop listening to the negativists and stop pitching personal barbs. It is time to start believing what outsiders have envied for so long. Irvine is special. We all want to protect what we love about our home, but let’s do make our points without the toxic rhetoric and sophomoric swipes.
It’s a place that draws individuals and families from across the state, nation and the world. In Irvine, generations of residents have pivoted their family’s fortunes toward a better future.
Those of us who work, live, and study here are fortunate. So why is everybody always complaining?
Social media and online forums are filled with angry messages and responses, some of which are regrettably personal attacks between those who are neighbors, if not neighborly. Campaign signs are up.
We get it. There are important issues facing the city upon which reasonable minds might differ. And there are those who enjoy riling things up, or believe they benefit from doing the same.
But sometimes we wish we could do so with a bit more civility. Here’s a suggestion: Let’s take a minute. Turn off our phones. Close our laptops. It’s time to lift our collective heads and look around. We live in a special place. Schools are exceptional. Roadways are clean. Parks and open space plentiful and safe. Bike and walking trails stretch for miles. This is Irvine, this is why multiple magazines claim our city as one to appreciate, emulate and enjoy.
Let’s stop listening to the negativists and stop pitching personal barbs. It is time to start believing what outsiders have envied for so long. Irvine is special. We all want to protect what we love about our home, but let’s do make our points without the toxic rhetoric and sophomoric swipes.