At what point...

At what point in history did Americans decide that self-governance was less important than trying to control others? At what point did common sense and intuition give way to knee jerk decision-making? When did we lose sight of what freedom really is- a wild ride full of unknowns and limitless possibilities, full of risks and personal responsibility?

As a child I don't recall my parents ever taking part in a town meeting. I am sure they did, if something riled them up bad enough, but not as a regular part of their lives. I remember them voting every year and instilling in me the importance of voting, but not once do I recall sitting in a town meeting and watching democracy taking place, so that I would understand my own true obligation in local self-governance- to be an active observer and participant.

I lacked the awareness that I had a personal obligation to myself and my fellow townspeople, and fell into the typical behavior of only showing up at meetings when I had something to complain about, which wasn't very often (mainly because I had no idea of what was going on unless I heard it through the grapevine). The sad part was that, many times, the information that I had heard was fraught with misinformation and personal bias rather than fact. So, occasionally I would show up to give the elected officials my two cents, only to find out that I had bad information or a completely distorted picture.

I try to pay attention to what is being said, ask questions and challenge mindsets, because I really want the truth. I want the opportunity to understand the issues, figure out what the provable facts are, and get some reasonable sense of what the results and consequences of choices will be on all of us -BEFORE we jump off the bridge. Sadly, too many others at these meetings don't seem to be there for the same reasons. They come with the smell of blood in their nostrils and their brains full of misinformation and all the facts in the world are meaningless, because they have already made up their minds and no amount of truth will alter their "reality". They come as mobs, fueled by misinformation and the personal politics of a few, apparently lacking the ability to actively listen and understand the consequences of the choices they are supporting.

A few years back, for a variety of reasons, I became more active in local politics. I didn't grow up in my small town, but moved here 20+ years ago and consider myself a piece of the changing town tapestry. I realized that I had a responsibility to take part in the democratic process, to get a real sense of what self-governance means and to instill in my own children the importance of being part of the solution. I agreed to do my part and have tried to raise the awareness of our politicians and townspeople, so that the decisions being made truly were based on facts, not gossip, innuendo and rumors.

It has been a very difficult couple of years- not because the issues where difficult or insurmountable. The difficulty lies is getting people to understand facts, not rely on gossip, before throwing their support to the 4 winds. To this observer it appears that people are easily whipped into emotional mobs by individuals whose personal politics have their toxic roots buried in personal slights, some stemming from childhood. That, I have learned, is a big problem with all local politics – too often political power is used as a payback tool for personal differences. Too often, political decisions are not based on careful consideration of the real consequences. Once the mobs are stirred, open discussion disintegrates into eye poking and faulty information takes center stage. The important discussions and information that people need to consider about the real issues, are lost in the mess.

The rest of the local residents who want their elected representatives to make sound decisions, not surprisingly, have detached from the political process altogether. What should, ideally, be the exercise of common sense and well thought out decisions devolves into knee jerk decisions made for all the wrong reasons. The results are less than desirable -a look at the state of our government- at all levels- today will confirm that. The sad part is that this dysfunctional process lends itself to all of our elections- local, state and national. People rely on gossip, innuendo and the media for political enlightenment, rather than doing their homework and asking tough questions – to insure our government works for us all, by electing the people really committed to fixing the problems.

2 1/2 years later I realize why our state and federal governments have become what they have. Nothing meaningful will happen in Albany and Washington until the majority of Americans rediscover the importance of taking part in the democratic process locally, actively seek the facts and invest themselves in finding solutions rather than being part of the mindless mob or the clueless masses.