Syl Jones wrote this article for last Sunday’s edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Discounting perhaps the labels. I think Mr. Jones has hit on a very key point in community activism. It seems to this observer that a good part of any community is disengaged in the day-to-day issues facing their respective communities.
Recent conversations with a number of individuals both here locally and through several forums nationally, have indicated they have an unwillingness to speak out on issues of concern for fear of being dragged through the gutter in the back rooms of coffee houses and web logs. They seem to have a concern for the response of elected officials as well as the risk they might run from a career standpoint.
I believe that Mr. Jones makes a good point that part of of a role of a good citizen is to support their community and be willing to stand up and be counted when things get tough. Public officials and elected officials, by nature of their position are open to more scrutiny and should be. Community members should be able to voice their concerns legitimately in a respectful and calm venue of discourse. With that right; however comes the responsibility to have their facts straight and not rely on rumor and innuendo.
I’m taking a graduate course that is reviewing the history of public administration. A constant theme throughout nearly 200 years of US history is consistent: ethical conduct on the part of public officials and a public that holds them to a higher standard and stands by them when the going gets rough.