This week in Kid Nation is all about equality. We begin the show with the observation that members of one of the districts have won the majority of the gold stars, and that some townspeople just don't seem to want to do their jobs. The Town Council, in their weekly tradition, consults the Journal of Governing Plans, which tells them to mix up the districts. As they leave the journal meeting, the Council is split 50-50 on whether to mix up the districts.
By the time the Council appears before the town to tell them they have read the Journal (to many audible groans...the townspeople know that the Journal is really in charge), the Council is now split 3-1 on dividing up the districts. So the 3 Council members who support the plan each swap one district member, managing to insult many of their current district members in the process. Only the Green district, with the most gold star winners, declines to participate. The Council member who originally opposed the trade, and then decided to participate, is roundly vilified by his district members and breaks down in tears. Another Council member is heard to say that if he had a time machine and could go back to the last election, he would not have run.
What we observed in this episode was that 2 of the 3 district members traded had opportunities to change or improve their position within their new districts, with one going on to win the gold star for the week. But for their attempts to artificially force some type of equality among their town, all of the Council members received a great amount of criticism from the town as a whole. The host, after seeing that the majority of the town indicated that they were displeased with how the Town Council was performing, calls for another round of elections, and in this round, even the Green district (who was unopposed in the last election, and kept her district intact during the trade) faces an opponent. Facial expressions give away the dismay the Council members feel when they realize that in each case they are being opposed by townspeople who are well-known and well-liked in the community.
Next week, we will see if campaign tactics have changed now that it doesn't appear to pay to be the incumbent.
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2 comments:
I wonder if the kids would vote for a $200,000 fountain while the police and fire fighters suffer?
I wonder if the kids would vote for a $200,000 fountain while the police and fire fighters suffer?
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