Much has already been written about the current city administration’s proposal to create a “Festival Czar” – a person who would be in charge of bringing festivals to the New York City of the Ozarks.

And it’s true that to bureaucratize such a position would to much to dilute the creativity, passion and enthusiasm that private citizens bring to creating these festivals. That’s one of the reasons we live here, and not in some of the other cities, where the citizens don’t have the opportunity to harness the creativity and passion to create what Fayetteville is justly famous for.

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But what is truly odd, and not touched upon so far, is the irony of an administration, the beneficiary of so much of that passion and enthusiasm in the 2008 election, seemingly willing to geld it, as it were.

To have some salaried employee to take charge of what so many have given so freely of themselves to would only endanger those projects, not help them. It would lessen the enthusiasm, and dampen the spirit of community creativity.

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It would make as much sense as if the city suddenly decided that there should be a Farmer’s Market Czar, a Roberts Rules of Order Czar, a Public Access Television Czar or a SpringFest Czar.

The city should be content to honor the passionate creativity of its citizens – not suddenly try to jump on the horse and ride it over a cliff.

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If you really wanna have a “czar”

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If the current city administration really wants to appoint a czar, how about one dealing with poverty in Fayetteville, and the third-world conditions that some renters live in?

That would be a lot more productive than getting involved in things that already work so well without the city’s “assistance.”

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Quote of the Day

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My chief memory of movieland is one of asking in the producer’s office why must I change the script, eviscerate it, cripple and hamstring it? Why must I strip the hero of his few semi-intelligent remarks and why must I tack on a corny ending that makes the stomach shudder? — Ben Hecht

rsdrake@cox.net

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