And So it Goes

I enjoy being on the Council. I really do. I have met some great people, including my "peeps", and I like being involved in trying to do something right for Jackson. But holy cow, how do I deal with the lack of civility that goes on at meetings? It is very hard to listen to, and it is even harder to control.

I have always been taught that you can disagree without being disagreeable. In all my years of public service (Council and School Board), I have never raised my voice to anyone. Shouting back and forth gets us nowhere, and it certainly doesn't appear very professional to the public. Party politics and personalities have no place on the dais, and I wish it would stop.

But it doesn't end with public meetings. Nastiness appears in e-mails as well. Why do people feel that in order to get their ideas across, they have to be nasty? I have never answered anyone that way, despite what is written to me.

I remember my most memorable public display scene. I was not in agreement with a fellow School Board member, and he said, "If my colleague weren't so stupid...." Everyone in the audience took a collective breath, and all I said after a pause was, "I accept your apology, Dick". He didn't know what to say to that, and the moment passed. I learned a valuable lesson in self control that night, and I wish some other people would learn it as well.