I was pleasantly surprised to see the Trib reporting on the issue of civility brought forth by the SLO County League of Women Voters! (Go Marilee Hyman! Someone who always had good observations to offer when she was on the WRAC - Water Resources Advisory Committee.) The article was front page, above the fold in the paper issue, appropriate for a pre-July 4 comment on democracy. I'm very glad to see the LWV bring this issue to the forefront and the Trib's respect for this topic; it is much needed. Hopefully, if successful at the highest level, the BOS's chambers, it will filter down to the smaller government venues as well.
While the high dudgeon days of the anti-sewer nuts are mostly over, the residual stench of poor manners in public will still raise its hideous head, just vocalizing now on other issues. This much anger might be a mental issue, but it is also just a case of these people's feelings of "personal exceptionalism" and entitlement, coupled with rotten manners, that causes the problems, not the ideas put forth. They have shot themselves in the foot more than once, but the lesson seems not to have left the foot to travel to the brain. Yes, altering bad behavior is difficult, but not unheard of or impossible to achieve.
The Trib reporters have been in the Board of Supe's chambers often enough to see how certain members of the public seem to want to obstruct civil discourse when things are not going their way by shouting out from the back of the room or using foul words or topics at the podium. I hope when this happens, that they will report the conditions in the room, not just the general issues spoken about, sweeping the actual dirt under the front row seats and out of sight. That dirt needs exposure for actual cleansing.
The TV audience never quite gets to see or really hear what caused the chairperson to gavel down the unseen, unheard ruckus, often assuming it is some egomaniacal whim of the chairperson to stop proceedings, thereby igniting the assumption that free speech is being thwarted and threatened, when in fact, stopping bad behavior is necessary to allow free speech for everyone, not just those who yell the loudest, and who are intimidating those fearful of being yelled at for speaking up on their ideas. Discourse should not be attenuated by fear; that is the opposite of free speech. Democracy demands free speech.
So, while slightly off the sewer issue, this topic seemed worthy of a posting, especially since the sewer is not yet operational until 2016, and there are unassigned recycled wastewater amounts still to be allotted somewhere. Not to mention the crabbing on the money not yet spent on conservation which still bring out the angry words. There will be fighting over water to come; let's make it a fair and civil fight.
(I wanted to get whisky in the paragraph above, as we are in the middle of an awful drought and the old saw about water's for fightin' and all, but without ice—which IS water, just immobilized—I can't. Happy July 4—plus beer is a better beverage for this occasion anyway.)
Read the Trib article here:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/07/02/3706421_league-of-women-voters-civil-discourse.html?rh=1
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