By: Philippe Thibault – 7/25
There are many adages associated with our most treasured form of government, Democracy.
It is said to be the best form of government with only one problem: it does not work. Democracy when no one takes responsibility for their actions and decisions devolves into two wolves and a sheep deciding what is for dinner. Democratic rule is also mob rule. Ironically, it is also the only form that the citizens get the government they deserve rather than the government they want.
What a fickle situation.
There is a population that claims to have no time to be involved; all the while lamenting that the government they have tasked to administer does not listen. By their own admission, they are not speaking, and the administrators are hard pressed to eavesdrop on whispered babble at best and mind reading most likely.
Benjamin Franklin’s warning to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 accomplishment of “a republic if you can keep it” still needs heeding today. It was just as much an alarm in the early years of this country as they are now. Maybe, more so now since the events that led up to the formation of a new country were recent and on the minds of everybody.
So, much like the proverbial cat in the box, our government works and does not work simultaneously, they coexist, but not really. Physicists and politicians will rightfully explain it is not the state of the cat or government that has duality, but the observer.
Government is an audience participation sport; in Dracut, the adjective “BLOOD” is often emphasized.
Good government cannot be obtained without good citizens.
When the citizen has continual involvement, they are removed from the equation as a variable. The intermittent casual observer has more to effectuate the smooth and open running of government than they deserve. The mere snapshot of participation creates a disproportional reaction to the whole. Decisions are no longer based upon thought discussion and contemplation but rather by observance. The observance does not require rational input or forethought; knee jerk reactions are enough to initiate the sporadic observance. Responding to sound bites become more important than meaning conversation to establish one point or the other.
Who participates is also a matter of contention. Dracut has 25,165 registered voters with a total population of 32,159 residents. Communications to reach each and every voter without any active participation of the citizen becomes unachievable. Citizen participation is needed to stay informed. Only a decade ago the Greater Lowell area had the Lowell Sun publishing within the city of Lowell. The publication has since moved from Lowell with a small office in Westford, MA. They have fallen prey to the loss of respect the media once enjoyed and fostered.
Lack of respect equates to lack of prominence and value. Their paid subscriptions tell the larger story. Is there nothing to fill the void?
We look to social media that runs mainly on algorithms to maximize the investment and advertising contents. They are more predacious than the press. Municipalities have started hosting public notices on their web pages. With dubious wayfinding, the notices to the public are often lost and hidden in plain sight.
There are a myriad of other platforms where information is presented, local access channels, local radio stations, bulletin boards, hand bills in tax bills, direct mailers, et cetera ad infinitum. The return on investment to distribute information diminished are the time investment to receive that very information declines. No one expects the town to send out memorandum via certified mail.
The responsibility is inherent to those who are governed to guarantee that they are informed by their participation. Hold the appointed and elected officials responsible for the work they have been charged with including distributing information by acceptable means. The officials cannot be responsible for the citizen who discards a notice or who wantonly ignores the notification.
For a population that claims to be independent and self-reliant, the claims that the government is not holding their hand or spoon feeding them when it comes time to distribute information becomes ludicrous. Locally our governments ask for direction from the residents. The government cannot listen if the public does not speak. If the people want to have their voices heard, they will need to participate to the best of their ability and capacity to the questions being asked.
We are left with a participatory population that appears to be extreme on either end. The proverbial political candle burning on both ends. The reasonable tones of moderation are overwhelmed and smothered by sirens with political agendas.
No one is trying to still the pendulum swing, they rather bat the bob to make it swing further. There are clearly easier forms of government that rely of less community involvement. When they work, they can be benevolent and when they go awry, they are oppressive. Is Schrodinger’s Democracy viable? It is a matter of peering into the mystical box to see the citizens and not the politicians.
You can email him at p.thibault@comcast.net ◊