From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Fri Dec 12 2003 - 20:38:12 PST
>It makes me wonder what is becoming of "The land
>of the free"
It is all what we make of it. If nobody cares a flying fig about how
government is run, other than to bitch about it (not saying this about
you Bill!), then it will go in whatever course it happens to go for that
area. And anybody that complains without trying to correct the course
should study up on what representative forms of government are all about.
My suggestions are:
1. Get yourself elected as a councilman.
OR
2. Get yourself an ally who is already on the council.
Use this influence to propose different legislation or to amend current
ones. Provided the issue isn't that big of a deal it is possible to
affect change with such direct involvement. This is the "easy" route
which might not be a viable option for you. So I suggest an alternative
or complementary action....
Start a "citizen's group". If you get enough people together, spell out
your issues CLEARLY AND POLITELY, and start attending public meetings to
keep the issue in their faces (POLITELY), you can affect change. Mostly
because public opposition rarely develops because everybody is too
apathetic to be bothered by something like this. In short, figure out how
your local government works and work within the system.
Loud mouth complainers who try to muscle their point of view do nothing
than make themselves look like idiots in public and are (at least around
me) routinely ignored out of spite if for no other reason. If you want
things to go your way, make friends not enemies. Or at the very least,
make people have respect for you. Standing up in a public meeting and
hurtling insults, or sitting around at the local bar pissing and moaning,
is akin to shooting your cause in the head with a .44 Magnum at point
blank range.
You can also try the legal challenge route. Personally I would make this
part of your overall POLITE presentation if it clearly favors your side
of the debate. Do not make it sound like a threat, simply mention it
along with all your other reasons (support it with documented cases).
Local governments (small ones in particular) hate the thought of pissing
away money on lawyers. If they think you have a point AND there is a
serious chance of a legal challenge, the easier course of action is to
drop what they are doing instead of fighting you. Sometimes this is good
for local government, sometimes bad (i.e. if a rich corporation threatens
something that is indeed legal and beneficial the community).
In a representative form of government, the people ultimately get what
they deserve. If the people are short tempered, narrow minded, lazy,
selfish, and generally apathetic people... guess what they'll get for
leadership? Local government is the most directly accountable level of
government. Personally I have found it VERY accessible where I live *IF*
it is approached in the right way. I can't stress that enough. "Done
right" might take more up front effort, but it takes less to maintain and
is far more likely to succeed in the end. And it is the end that matters.
Hope that helps :-)
Steve
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