By Dave Begel Contributing Writer Published May 21, 2015 at 9:03 AM Photography: Bobby Tanzilo

Lip Service.

We’ve all done it and we all know what it means.

"An avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds – usually used with pay."

"I love the Milwaukee Admirals," but you never buy a ticket. "That’s my favorite restaurant," but you never go there. "I am really sick of violence on TV," but you watch "Game of Thrones" every week.

There are all kinds of individual lip service examples, but there are plenty of community-wide examples as well. Here are the top things that just get lip service in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Public Schools – "It’s really crucial that we improve education for young black kids in Milwaukee." If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that I’d be a rich man. But hardly anyone wants to fund the schools, many support voucher schools that siphon off money from MPS and hardly anyone volunteers to mentor or tutor district students who need it. And news operations throughout the city know that news about MPS is a death knell for readers and ratings.

The seasons – "I really love the four seasons in Milwaukee." Take a look at the number of people who actually get out and do something in winter. Hardly anyone likes a bitter Wisconsin winter, but we still perpetuate the myth that we love that change of seasons.

Local TV anchors – "I really love (fill in the anchor’s name here). But the numbers tell a vastly different story. Fewer and fewer people are watching local news. The personality of these anchors just isn’t the draw it used to be.

Kale – "Kale? Mmmmmm." It’s supposed to be the hot vegetable (is Kale a vegetable?). The Whole Foods crowd seems head over heels about it. But I don’t know anybody who eats it, much less anyone who likes it.

Central city violence – "We have to find some way to end all that violence in the central city." Everybody who doesn’t live in the central city – and many of the people who do – talk about how terrible all this violence is. But too many people in the central city practice the "no snitch" rule and don’t turn in the shooters. And the general attitude of those who live elsewhere seems to be that while it may be terrible, as long as the violence doesn’t touch them they’re satisfied.

Voting – "Voting is the responsibility of everyone in our society." Ask anyone and they’ll tell you how important it is to vote. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain, right? Well in a real hot election we might get half of the eligible voters to actually vote. In some elections we are lucky to get 20 percent of those eligible to actually drag their butts to the polls.

Poutine – "I could eat poutine every single day." Every time I hear someone rave about this Canadian dish made of french fries, gravy and cheese curds, I can’t believe it. Anybody who is even moderately concerned about their health can’t possibly like this dish. And that gravy ... eeeeuw.

Sports talk radio – "I love the hosts on (fill in the name of some sports talk radio host here). Take a look at the ratings. The three sports talk stations in Milwaukee barely register. More people listen to Christian music stations than they do to sports talk stations.

Texting – "Texting while driving is very, very dangerous and people who do it should be arrested and fined." Stand on a busy corner sometime and look into the window of every car that comes by that’s driven by someone under 50. Enough said.

Dave Begel Contributing Writer

With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.

He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.

This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.

Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.