A friendly reminder on civil discourse
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Forgive me, but I can’t help but wonder how CNN would have handled this one. (Actually, I once worked side by side with CNN, and I was not
impressed.)
If this past Monday’s public meeting of the Jackson Township trustees did not set the 21st century record for profanity uttered in a public meeting, Lord knows what meeting did.
But let’s not leap to conclusions, here. This column probably isn’t going where you might think.
So bear with me.
Now that one of the more widely attended township trustees meetings of late has concluded, I’ll come clean. The Highland County Press was asked to attend this meeting as a favor owed by the publisher to one Chris Williamson Rakyta. Chris is one of those friends in life who never seeks a favor. But in the rare case she does, you must deliver. Chris was the designated speaker for the Belfast Community Center, Inc. group at Monday’s meeting of the township trustees. Her brief speech, in its entirety, is available on our Web site at www.highlandcountypress.com.
Chris addressed the trustees, with a calm, clear, concise and professional demeanor. Her well-prepared words offered a favorable remedy to the current stand-off between the committee for the former Belfast School and the trustees.
Just as the committee was wise to select Chris as its spokesperson, the trustees would be equally wise to listen. And it appears that they are. To their credit, the Jackson Township trustees are taking the proposal for a one-year lease from the township to the committee under the professional advisement of Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey.
Good for them.
Now, let’s go back to the profanity spoken this past Monday evening.
Each and every word of profanity that I heard, came from either a trustee or the fiscal officer, in reference to a previous trustees’ meeting. Granted, they were just trying to inform citizens who missed the February meeting of the crass language that had been directed at them. However, no higher purpose was served by repeating this language in any form.
Without question, I understand their collective frustration from being the target of alleged profanities at an earlier meeting. (Been there, done that.)
But when any public official, sitting on a board in the course of a public meeting, engages in such discourse, he loses.
I cannot recall a time (from having attended many such meetings) when I’ve witnessed a public official in such a setting, raise his voice toward an audience member, and ask rhetorically: “How would you like to be called a (blah-blah, blah-blah)?”
The honest answer is that none of us would enjoy it. But discretion – being the better part of valor and common sense – suggests we simply keep such hostilities to ourselves.
All public servants, from township trustees, to county commissioners, to school board members, and on and on, must realize that they are accountable to the public they wish to serve. By the same token, the public must respect that these public servants have a job to do. They cannot be expected to make all of the people happy all of the time. And when citizens do attend public meetings, they must exercise emotional restraint and respect those in office.
Fortunately, when Jackson Township resident Dick Gorman spoke Monday
evening and asked everyone to respect their trustees, no one objected.
Aside from Chris Rakyta, no one other than Mr. Gorman spoke more
eloquently Monday night.
“In the past, people were working for the common good,” Mr. Gorman said.
“This can be a good thing, but we can’t attack one another. We have to work
together.
“Everybody’s got memories here, but hollering and insulting one another won’t help. Belfast has contributed greatly to the Highland County community. The trustees deserve your respect.”
Well said.
And of equal importance, the trustees must respect and appreciate the voices of those they represent. The best advice would be to calm down, let cooler heads prevail and forget past meetings and past transgressions.
I know one of the three trustees and I know the families of the other two. These are good people in the community. All of them. They should know better than to use words in a public meeting that they would not dare use in church or in front of their mother.
That same lesson applies to all of of us.
On the bright side, it was very encouraging to see a few dozen citizens show up for a public meeting and make their voices heard. It is, after all, a government by the people and for the people. Just keep it civil.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention that as Monday’s open discussion concluded, the trustees and the majority of citizens in attendance exchanged pleasant parting words. That was good to see and should not go unnoticed. We are friends here. Let’s act like it.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
impressed.)
If this past Monday’s public meeting of the Jackson Township trustees did not set the 21st century record for profanity uttered in a public meeting, Lord knows what meeting did.
But let’s not leap to conclusions, here. This column probably isn’t going where you might think.
So bear with me.
Now that one of the more widely attended township trustees meetings of late has concluded, I’ll come clean. The Highland County Press was asked to attend this meeting as a favor owed by the publisher to one Chris Williamson Rakyta. Chris is one of those friends in life who never seeks a favor. But in the rare case she does, you must deliver. Chris was the designated speaker for the Belfast Community Center, Inc. group at Monday’s meeting of the township trustees. Her brief speech, in its entirety, is available on our Web site at www.highlandcountypress.com.
Chris addressed the trustees, with a calm, clear, concise and professional demeanor. Her well-prepared words offered a favorable remedy to the current stand-off between the committee for the former Belfast School and the trustees.
Just as the committee was wise to select Chris as its spokesperson, the trustees would be equally wise to listen. And it appears that they are. To their credit, the Jackson Township trustees are taking the proposal for a one-year lease from the township to the committee under the professional advisement of Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey.
Good for them.
Now, let’s go back to the profanity spoken this past Monday evening.
Each and every word of profanity that I heard, came from either a trustee or the fiscal officer, in reference to a previous trustees’ meeting. Granted, they were just trying to inform citizens who missed the February meeting of the crass language that had been directed at them. However, no higher purpose was served by repeating this language in any form.
Without question, I understand their collective frustration from being the target of alleged profanities at an earlier meeting. (Been there, done that.)
But when any public official, sitting on a board in the course of a public meeting, engages in such discourse, he loses.
I cannot recall a time (from having attended many such meetings) when I’ve witnessed a public official in such a setting, raise his voice toward an audience member, and ask rhetorically: “How would you like to be called a (blah-blah, blah-blah)?”
The honest answer is that none of us would enjoy it. But discretion – being the better part of valor and common sense – suggests we simply keep such hostilities to ourselves.
All public servants, from township trustees, to county commissioners, to school board members, and on and on, must realize that they are accountable to the public they wish to serve. By the same token, the public must respect that these public servants have a job to do. They cannot be expected to make all of the people happy all of the time. And when citizens do attend public meetings, they must exercise emotional restraint and respect those in office.
Fortunately, when Jackson Township resident Dick Gorman spoke Monday
evening and asked everyone to respect their trustees, no one objected.
Aside from Chris Rakyta, no one other than Mr. Gorman spoke more
eloquently Monday night.
“In the past, people were working for the common good,” Mr. Gorman said.
“This can be a good thing, but we can’t attack one another. We have to work
together.
“Everybody’s got memories here, but hollering and insulting one another won’t help. Belfast has contributed greatly to the Highland County community. The trustees deserve your respect.”
Well said.
And of equal importance, the trustees must respect and appreciate the voices of those they represent. The best advice would be to calm down, let cooler heads prevail and forget past meetings and past transgressions.
I know one of the three trustees and I know the families of the other two. These are good people in the community. All of them. They should know better than to use words in a public meeting that they would not dare use in church or in front of their mother.
That same lesson applies to all of of us.
On the bright side, it was very encouraging to see a few dozen citizens show up for a public meeting and make their voices heard. It is, after all, a government by the people and for the people. Just keep it civil.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention that as Monday’s open discussion concluded, the trustees and the majority of citizens in attendance exchanged pleasant parting words. That was good to see and should not go unnoticed. We are friends here. Let’s act like it.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]