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Three panels, each composed of six participants, separately tackled one of the questions posed, with each panelist being allowed 90 seconds to respond to the question, followed by a second round of responses limited to 90 seconds each. Tables of six throughout the room then focused discussion on the topic, jotting their thoughts onto index card-sized Post-its, which were transcribed into booklet form for participants.
The second panel addressed “What should we keep doing?” and included: Char Miller, director of Urban Studies at Trinity University; developer Marty Wender; City Councilwoman Patti Radle; immigration attorney Robbie Greenblum; Fernando Reyes, chairman of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Javier Elizondo, vice president for Economic Affairs at the Baptist University of the Americas.
“I have three words for us,” said Miller. “Recycle, conserve and re-center.” These, he noted, are reality but also metaphors for the ways we have started to do things and will hopefully continue to do so. He noted the San Antonio Water System has developed a process of literally creating water loops throughout the community, and he felt a similar process could be enacted in other parts of our lives.
Regarding conservation, he praised the city’s long tradition of conservation of human habitats, notably by the San Antonio Conservation Society, but pointed out we lag behind on doing the same for our natural landscape. On re-centering, he remarked that as we swell outward, we lose the capacity to grow internally. “We’re starting to rebuild the center of the city that the Spanish laid out for us,” he said, “and we ought to pay heed to that.”
Said Wender, “The one thing that we have to keep doing is keep working together.” He pointed out other cities do not have this ability to bring diverse groups together and that in his job of promoting San Antonio and bringing in businesses he has become very aware of this asset. While people remember the Alamo and Riverwalk, what impresses them most, he said, is the friendliness of the people. “We can never, ever let go of that,” he said.
Radle’s wish list for what San Antonio should keep doing included continuing to: improve and expand our park areas, protect our aquifer, reduce air pollution, protect and plant more trees, improve mass transit, act compassionately towards those in need — whether the homeless, immigrant families or disaster victims, keep our city an affordable place to live, keep a strong commitment to the arts and smaller community schools, support workforce training, speak both English and Spanish, respect our cultures, nurture a strong relationship with Mexico, maintain our historic structures and traditions, keep a diligent watch on river development and continue the dream of Martin Luther King. “We should continue to protect the innocence of our children,” she said, “and to strengthen the family unit. To teach our children God’s message of love for all people and to live that message.”
Greenblum noted a family member refers to San Antonio as the “biggest ranch in the world,” meaning that while we are a big city, we also have the warmth of a small town, a warmth infused with both the Texas and Mexican cultures. He spoke in glowing terms of being involved in the establishment of a Latino/Jewish dialogue, which later became a Latino/Jewish/Black dialogue, and of the joint Catholic/Christian/Jewish Hanukkah tradition celebrated annually at San Fernando with a menorah rescued from the Holocaust. “That’s the sort of thing San Antonio needs to keep doing,” he said.
Reyes pointed out that we should continue to provide a positive environment to encourage business growth and prosperity. While we should keep bringing in large corporations that provide good-paying jobs, he said, we should not forget the small, local businesses, “the people who invested in San Antonio before San Antonio was ‘cool.’” We need to be sure our infrastructures continue to maintain a good quality of life, he noted, and that our children are educated in moral values as well as math, science and reading. “We need to think ahead 25 years from now, 50 years from now,” he said, “about what kind of life we are going to leave for our kids, what kind of city we are going to leave for our kids.”
Elizondo spoke of the city’s “compassionate spirit” being part of its character, noting it is fostered by leaders in all sectors of the community. He noted how impressed he has been by the high level of participation of residents in volunteer efforts, not only on behalf on those in San Antonio but along the border as well, something he sees as intentional, rather than accidental, and directly attributable to the leaders in our community. “One of the things that we must continue to do,” he said, “is to cultivate this spirit of compassion that translates into action in behalf of people in need.” Equal education and opportunities for all were also concerns of his
In the second round of panelist responses, Miller referred to the Jewish “Tikun Olam” movement, which translated means “to repair the world” and is driven by the moral perception that the world is “broken” and needs to be reframed. He noted he observed that same sense of obligation expressed by the symposium panelists in terms of our surroundings and their compassion for others, seeking to provide them with decent education, work and homes.
Said Wender: “One of the main things we need to do is protect downtown.” Calling San Fernando “the heart and soul of the city, as is everything downtown,” he noted there are “only a few cities that have a very special downtown — and we’ve got one.”
“Reference has been made,” said Radle, “to the compassion of the city, and I think that is what makes us into what we are and gives us that wonderful personality that we have that we should protect. And I think it comes from a city that’s had a very strong faith base and that’s why I say we need to nurture that and continue that.” This includes, she said, a love for the earth as well as each other. We must continue to ask ourselves personally, she continued, regarding our love of our community, “What does that mean when I’m faced with the opportunity to make an excessive dollar?”
Greenblum, in addition to the previously mentioned concept of “Tikun Olam,” noted another biblical concept. “We are commanded to be kind to the strangers among us,” he said, “because we were once strangers in a strange land.” He noted that this happens in San Antonio. “As we continue to grow as a city,” he said, “that’s the sort of thing we shouldn’t let go, because we’re doing a great job. A lot of us who come from real different backgrounds have deep relationships with each other, and it’s that foundation, I think, that will then allow us to grow economically, as long as we maintain our spiritual grace.”
Reyes commented on the need to continue developing our young leaders. “I think that’s the future of our city,” he said, advocating mentoring and internship programs. “We cannot afford to lose the brainpower that we have,” he said, “the energy that we have in our young individuals who are aspiring for great, good careers.” Business should continue to find ways to bring these young people into leadership positions, he added.
Elizondo expressed the hope that San Antonians continue to welcome new people of all faiths and ethnicities, as they have done over the years. “I cannot think of a better place for people in need to be than in San Antonio, of all the places that I have lived,” he said, “and it is because of this sense of willingness to tackle the issues that we have, with the populations that we have in our midst, and wanting to be a good neighbor to all the people around us.”
In the May 11 issue — What should we start doing? |