This is a story about Attitude. The Attitude we are talking about today is the one between the local government and its people. The local government can take an attitude that “we are the governing body, and we will decide what is best for you.” Or, it can take an attitude that “we are your representatives. How may we serve you?”

In the last post, we talked about how a bad Attitude toward a customer is bad for business. Today, we’ll talk about how a bad Attitude toward the citizens is bad for government. Here are examples of two governments. These are true stories, but the names and dates are disguised.

Government #1. We’ll call this the Government of Pastry-Eaters. This story happened a long time ago, long before any of the current Pastry Eaters were “in power.” But it did happen. It’s a true story.

In this county, a group of high school children, about 10 of them, from 9th grade on up, were learning about how government works. They had noticed that their high school didn’t seem to be as competitive as the high schools in counties around them. They got the idea, based on what they had learned in school about how government works, that they should go to their Board of Supervisors and submit a request for a new high school. They talked to their teachers and their principal, and they worked very hard to write their request. After all their hard work, they went together, before the Board to make their proposal. Shaking with anxiety, they submitted their request and waited for the answer, to see how local government works.

The Board laughed. “Pastry-Eaters are busy people,” the Board chairman said. “We don’t have time to listen to requests from children.” That day, the children learned not to bother important people or speak up to authority. It was many years before a new high school was built in that land.

The Attitude of Government #1 was that they were the “deciders.” What the people wanted was not relevant to their decisions.

Government #2. We’ll call them the TV Personalities. This story is also true, and it also happened a long time ago. But in a different county. In this county, the citizens were very involved in their government. They were so involved that every meeting of the county Board was on television. The people of the county wanted to make sure nothing happened behind closed doors or in secret session.

In this county, a group of high school children, about 10 of them, from 9th grade on up, were learning how government works. They had noticed that the shop owners were chasing them away when they tried to skate board. They got the idea, based on what they had learned in school about how government works, that they should go to their Board of Supervisors and submit a request for a skate park. They talked to their teachers and their principal, and they worked very hard to write their request. After all their hard work, they went together, before the Board to make their proposal. Shaking with anxiety, they submitted their request and waited for the answer, to see how local government works.

This Board was on television. The Board members knew the parents of these children were watching. The Board members invited the children to be on the advisory team, to help plan the new skate park. The skate park was five years in the making, but those children helped plan it, and they learned that local government works for them. That day, the children learned that they can make a difference in their world, and they can be part of change.

Attitude. It matters. Which of those two governments do we want in Page County? Even if we learned as children that it is not up to us to challenge authority, not up to us to make proposals for change, and not up to us to bring issues to the attention of our representatives . . . even if we think “THEY” won’t hear us . . . we can unlearn those lessons as adults. We elect our representatives. We know their phone numbers. We can make our voices heard.

I read in the Page News and Courier – my favorite newspaper – that the Economic Development Authority is going to publish some questions and answers.

Send your questions! tcardman@pagecounty.virginia.gov
(Be sure to copy the Page News editor@pagenewspaper.com
and me Research@PageCountyWatch.org)

Alice