I remember an episode in the early '70s when a bunch of us "activists" were giving City Hall a hard time about urban renewal and then Alderman Walt Dziedzic complained to his peers in a public hearing about the "professional citizens" that were getting in the way of business as usual.
Plus le change ... except now I'm a member of one of the city's public bodies and have in fact followed the trail long since blazed by a number of "professional citizens" who came from private life into public responsibility. Wherever do you suppose members of boards, commissions, and major elected public bodies come from if not from the ranks of people who care enough about civic process to take a hand as volunteers and sometimes play for high stakes? The premise I've followed for years is that there is no guarantee that the government - or business - or the person down the street - will know what's best in a given situation and that the beauty of our American system is that we get to help find a better way if we're so inclined. If someone in authority takes umbrage at that, I need only recall the ancient Greeks who suggest it's better to consider the quality of argument than to ridicule the source. All sides need to value communication skills. The delight of Minneapolis issues is that our comments rub up against one another and sometimes - not all - the rough edges get abraded and a helpful result enters public discourse. This doesn't replace the regular functions of government, the media, or whatever but it does mean that light does sometimes shine where dark shadows could otherwise lurk. Fred Markus, Horn Terrace, Ward Ten, Redistricting Commissioner _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
