Caitie, thanks for your focus on community. I have come to view American individualism as a very pernicious element of our culture and politics. It defies our whole evolutionary history as a species. We have survived so far on cooperation, empathy, and collective thinking. Enough said…. I wouldn’t want to get into rant mode. Mark
Thank you for sharing the thoughtful and heartfelt commencement speech Caitie!
If I may ask, what do you mean by "Some of what I’m feeling is worry about Hudson, about the future of our local leadership after a Democratic primary last week."
This sentence about local leadership in a Democratic Party Primary (there was no GOP Primary) is couched between a sentence about heart-wrenching personal family loss, and sentences about extreme and hugely consequential national healthcare crises, and then global wars.
[FWIW - the Iran-Israel war as well as the longer running Congo war now have cease-fires.]
Do you believe the Democratic Party Primary results are on par with that personal loss, and ongoing global crises? If so, how?
Or are you more sharing several unrelated personal, local, and global events that worry you?
In both cases, I'd be curious to know why the Democratic Party Primary results worry you? Perhaps that is a separate post one day, and not the core message of your Commencement Speech and personal reflection.
Thank you again for thinking, remembering, and writing in public. It is a gift.
I included the primary because the stakes here feel real to me in ways that are hard to separate from other forms of loss. I’ve spent most of my life in this city. When trust erodes -- when campaigns get ugly and personal instead of clear about what we’re building together -- it doesn’t feel abstract. It feels like something breaking close to home.
I know you’re newer to Hudson. For many of us, these small elections shape the texture of daily life as much as any headline war or crisis. That’s why it made its way into the same paragraph.
Thank you for writing and commenting Caitie, I wish more did.
And that makes sense why the local primary election made it into the same paragraph for you.
re: Primary
"when campaigns get ugly" - do you mean Kamal's nativist attacks on Joe? Or the news story and comments calling on Kamal to disclose potentially undisclosed financial benefits from Galvan? [Narrator voice; still undisclosed]
I ask because I commented on your Substack at the time to clarify if you were disappointed in the "character" of the debate... and you clarified to say that you "don't mind debates getting scrappy."
'When I wrote about “the character of the city hanging in the balance,” I wasn’t talking about whether someone was polite on stage or maintained a particular tone. I wasn’t talking about decorum or professionalism.'
I genuinely would like to know why the election results have you down. All the current candidates are pro-housing, pro-fairness, and pro-civility. No?
re: "I know you're newer to Hudson"
You mention my tenure in Hudson. You often mention that you are fifth generation.
Clearly, tenure and legacy matter to you. This is in the context of the current mayor and other defeated candidates vilifying "transplants" and "cidiots" and one even said to me "you should only weigh in once you have lived here for 15 years". This was double funny because that esteemed individual now lives in Albany. This is also weird because Hudson virtue signals on being a "welcoming" nay "sanctuary" city.
So let me ask you this. Who is more prone to blindspots about what holds Hudson back? An engaged resident of five years, fifty years, or fifth generation?
The engaged five-year resident might lack some local context and lessons from the past that cannot be studied in books, but brings comparison points from elsewhere and often higher expectations, new skills, and social and financial capital. The fifty-year resident likely enjoys deep social ties and emotional connection, and knows the recent past very well because they lived it, but risks falling into the local maxima trap [https://www.nateliason.com/blog/local-maxima].
The fifth-generation resident carries weight. Intergenerational knowledge, moral authority for some if they choose to wield it, a sense of stewardship. But where is the line between being an enlightened legacy and becoming the modern Patroon, so wedded to entrenched ways that progress stalls?
Of course the wise answer, I would contend, is that all 3 bring valuable, albeit different, assets and experiences to the table, and all should have an equal vote, pay equal taxes, and be equal community members.**
Now luckily for me #1 and #2 is the law of the land and so it will happen, or we will make it happen with big and beautiful lawsuits.
#3 is voluntary, and that is where you and I and everyone else can play a role.
** One citizen, one vote.
*** And by equal tax I mean proportional to home value, assessed annually. Which is imperfect, but better than most other systems and the law of this land. If you want to geek out on policy... don't get me started on true Land Value Tax (higher tax rate on land, lower on buildings and improvement), which incentivizes development and decreases speculation. But all land and citizens are treated equally, regardless of immutable traits or tenure in an area. Like most things related to housing Australasia has better policies in this domain that we can learn from.
Lovely commencement address, and spot on. Well done Catie!
Thank you so much, Richard!
Caitie, thanks for your focus on community. I have come to view American individualism as a very pernicious element of our culture and politics. It defies our whole evolutionary history as a species. We have survived so far on cooperation, empathy, and collective thinking. Enough said…. I wouldn’t want to get into rant mode. Mark
Thank you for sharing the thoughtful and heartfelt commencement speech Caitie!
If I may ask, what do you mean by "Some of what I’m feeling is worry about Hudson, about the future of our local leadership after a Democratic primary last week."
This sentence about local leadership in a Democratic Party Primary (there was no GOP Primary) is couched between a sentence about heart-wrenching personal family loss, and sentences about extreme and hugely consequential national healthcare crises, and then global wars.
[FWIW - the Iran-Israel war as well as the longer running Congo war now have cease-fires.]
Do you believe the Democratic Party Primary results are on par with that personal loss, and ongoing global crises? If so, how?
Or are you more sharing several unrelated personal, local, and global events that worry you?
In both cases, I'd be curious to know why the Democratic Party Primary results worry you? Perhaps that is a separate post one day, and not the core message of your Commencement Speech and personal reflection.
Thank you again for thinking, remembering, and writing in public. It is a gift.
Thanks for reading, Hugo.
I included the primary because the stakes here feel real to me in ways that are hard to separate from other forms of loss. I’ve spent most of my life in this city. When trust erodes -- when campaigns get ugly and personal instead of clear about what we’re building together -- it doesn’t feel abstract. It feels like something breaking close to home.
I know you’re newer to Hudson. For many of us, these small elections shape the texture of daily life as much as any headline war or crisis. That’s why it made its way into the same paragraph.
Hope that helps explain.
Thank you for writing and commenting Caitie, I wish more did.
And that makes sense why the local primary election made it into the same paragraph for you.
re: Primary
"when campaigns get ugly" - do you mean Kamal's nativist attacks on Joe? Or the news story and comments calling on Kamal to disclose potentially undisclosed financial benefits from Galvan? [Narrator voice; still undisclosed]
I ask because I commented on your Substack at the time to clarify if you were disappointed in the "character" of the debate... and you clarified to say that you "don't mind debates getting scrappy."
'When I wrote about “the character of the city hanging in the balance,” I wasn’t talking about whether someone was polite on stage or maintained a particular tone. I wasn’t talking about decorum or professionalism.'
I genuinely would like to know why the election results have you down. All the current candidates are pro-housing, pro-fairness, and pro-civility. No?
re: "I know you're newer to Hudson"
You mention my tenure in Hudson. You often mention that you are fifth generation.
Clearly, tenure and legacy matter to you. This is in the context of the current mayor and other defeated candidates vilifying "transplants" and "cidiots" and one even said to me "you should only weigh in once you have lived here for 15 years". This was double funny because that esteemed individual now lives in Albany. This is also weird because Hudson virtue signals on being a "welcoming" nay "sanctuary" city.
So let me ask you this. Who is more prone to blindspots about what holds Hudson back? An engaged resident of five years, fifty years, or fifth generation?
The engaged five-year resident might lack some local context and lessons from the past that cannot be studied in books, but brings comparison points from elsewhere and often higher expectations, new skills, and social and financial capital. The fifty-year resident likely enjoys deep social ties and emotional connection, and knows the recent past very well because they lived it, but risks falling into the local maxima trap [https://www.nateliason.com/blog/local-maxima].
The fifth-generation resident carries weight. Intergenerational knowledge, moral authority for some if they choose to wield it, a sense of stewardship. But where is the line between being an enlightened legacy and becoming the modern Patroon, so wedded to entrenched ways that progress stalls?
Of course the wise answer, I would contend, is that all 3 bring valuable, albeit different, assets and experiences to the table, and all should have an equal vote, pay equal taxes, and be equal community members.**
Now luckily for me #1 and #2 is the law of the land and so it will happen, or we will make it happen with big and beautiful lawsuits.
#3 is voluntary, and that is where you and I and everyone else can play a role.
** One citizen, one vote.
*** And by equal tax I mean proportional to home value, assessed annually. Which is imperfect, but better than most other systems and the law of this land. If you want to geek out on policy... don't get me started on true Land Value Tax (higher tax rate on land, lower on buildings and improvement), which incentivizes development and decreases speculation. But all land and citizens are treated equally, regardless of immutable traits or tenure in an area. Like most things related to housing Australasia has better policies in this domain that we can learn from.