Still the Wild West

Naysayers begone; California is a great place to live. It’s not to everyone’s taste, naturally, as no single state is. But the committed and adoring, the fighters and dreamers, the mad and maddening, remain tied to this Wild West outpost. We have our good reasons.

But first, truth. The Golden State is in the midst of un­precedented political and social upheaval. Many of our elected officials are comically terrible at best and deeply destructive at worst. Criminal offenses like vehicle smash-and-grabs and shoplifting have drastically increased in the state, especially since the passage of Proposition 47, a measure that converted a whole host of felonies into misdemeanors. Today anyone can steal $950 worth of property from a home, person, or store or commit fraud and forgery up to that amount. Without meaningful consequences, nothing stops them.

Culturally we’re accepting of alternative lifestyles, so until recently we’ve been loath to set even sensible boundaries. The result has been an unchecked illegal-drug trade ruled by brutal gangs, an exploding population of people with severe substance-abuse issues, and a massive homelessness crisis. Today an estimated 129,000 people are living on the state’s streets, in nightmarish conditions. Many are severely ill, both physically and psychologically. Rather than concentrate on providing drug-treatment programs and mental-health care, however, cities like San Francisco simply distribute fresh needles, reams of fentanyl foil, and methamphetamine supplies. Users suffer and die. In 2020 there were 699 overdoses in the city; an unconscionable number of unnecessary fatalities. The combination of criminal activity, drug addiction, and growing encampments has wrecked the quality of life for residents in entire communities. Blight and violence have taken over formerly thriving business districts, with low-income areas the most unfairly impacted. Now it’s extending to areas that have traditionally been shielded. No more. Plenty call California a dump (or worse) and I don’t blame them.

It wasn’t always this way. Whether native or immigrated, we have allowed this state to descend, and it happened in my lifetime. When I was nine, my parents packed their seven children into the family station wagon for an exploratory year in Santa Monica. If we liked it, we’d sell the New Jersey house and return permanently. We lived in a motel like semi-static nomads and were thoroughly charmed by California. “Best schools in the country!” my parents would exclaim. “You can do anything here, and it’s warm in the winter!” Dad, a haircutter, set up shop in a swank Malibu salon, while Mom took us to the park for judo and cooking lessons, “for free!” (she’d say, amazed). We stuck to the plan and relocated to a (then) reasonably priced San Diego beach town. There was nothing about my state I didn’t adore, and as a young adult, I relocated to glorious San Francisco.

Today’s California is different. Worse? Yes, in many ways, but the mystique and a beautiful, rich, complicated history remain. It has lure; sex appeal. Despite its myriad of faults, people continue to gravitate here. It has Silicon Valley, the Castro, Hollywood, stunning beaches, wild deserts, and those famous redwood forests. And currently it has something even more fascinating: warriors.

Citizens from across the wide political spectrum and of every demographic are coming together to restore the health and balance of a state ruled by one party for decades. Maybe it had to get this bad, with a decline so dramatic that ignoring it was impossible. Millions who have chosen to stay in California are forcing change. Just one measure of hope are organizations like the United Peace Collaborative. It was co-founded by Leanna Louie, an Asian woman with an Army background, to protect San Francisco’s Chinatown against looting and violence. The group has since mobilized the city’s substantial Asian community, battling racially motivated attacks and demanding justice for victims.

The confidence of elected officials is cracking. Governor Gavin Newsom is now facing a recall, as are the district attorneys for Los Angeles and San Francisco. California parents are no longer complacent with their public-education system’s having fallen to 37th in the country. They are breaking biased and incompetent school boards, including the one in San Francisco that’s fixated on destroying a beloved merit-based high school and renaming 44 schools on bizarre and unfounded grounds of racism.

Liberals and moderates are now acutely aware that the values they hold dear have been hijacked by politicians with personal agendas. Radical ideologues — such as Assembly­woman Lorena Gonzalez, who pushed through AB 5, a bill that had severe ramifications for the state’s independent contractors — are losing favor. Their grandiose ideas, when put into practice, have been ruinous. Cali­fornians want safety, a vibrant economy, the opportunity to work, and the option to send their children to high-quality public schools. Officials who don’t deliver ought to be worried about their careers.

Our troubles are not impossible to fix. It will take fresh leadership, and that’s coming. In fact, California has a promising future largely thanks to the surge of civic interest and activity. We aren’t as laid back as the movies (made largely by us) depict. Residents are challenging the existing power structure because they value their home state and want to make it better. There is an indisputable energy; a buzz. You see, California is still the Wild West. Anything can happen — including an influx of more adventurous young families who immigrate here, then look about in awe.