Paul Levy has followed up his comment on Village 14 about the statement released by Newton Aldermen Vicki Danberg, Greg Schwartz and Dick Blazar regarding Cypress/Centre Streets with a blog post on his site titled “This is not courage.”

Read the  full post, but here’s two spot-on excerpts…

… the Aldermanic vote is just the opposite from courage.  It was a way to avoid difficulty, i.e., the complaints from constituents.  But even if it is a tough vote, use of the terminology in this case weakens its meaning when there are real cases of courage

and this…

The Aldermen’s note is typical of the kind of “grade inflation” used by so many legislators today.  You know, the ones who constantly remind us how “hard they are working” to create jobs for Americans, to protect us from hazards, and so on.  Hey guys and gals, sitting in a legislative chamber and using your brains and abilities to decide which way to vote it not “hard work.”  Yes, it is work, and when done right, it takes thoughtfulness, experience, and dedication.  But “hard work” is what many of your constituents do every day. If you want to see hard work, for example, shadow a transporter in a hospital, a nurse in an ICU, or a physician carrying out a delicate procedure.