Last night I attended a meeting. Not just any meeting; it was billed as a "community conversation". You ever see 200+ people have a conversation.....about money....interesting, very interesting.
I'm not sure what I expected, but the one thing I wanted to see was how anyone could possibly facilitate a conversational meeting of this magnitude. Especially when the subject matter was of such importance to everyone who took the time to attend. You see, a neighboring county is about to receive a significant financial windfall, and I've heard that discussions about money don't always bring out the best in people.....Last night went a long ways toward dispelling that belief.
The facilitator, after dealing with an initial disruption, did a masterful job of maintaining order and guiding the meeting to a productive outcome. People were passionate, but polite while stating their opinions as to how the elected officials should spend the money, but that's the way we do things in rural Kansas. This county has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the State, and how this money is utilized will be critical to the county's future, yet the discussion was civil and appropriate.
Politics + Money = Civil Discourse.....No way I would have believed it, but at the end of the night, there was no other way to describe it. I applaud the County Commissioners for their willingness to listen to the citizens before making any decisions regarding the best use of the anticipated funds. At this point, there is much yet to be decided, but what a wonderful start to open the dialogue before decisions are made instead of after the fact.
Though I am not a citizen of that county, I admire their approach to this issue. I attended to simply listen and observe, but came away with a renewed belief in our system of governance, at least at the local level. People really do care about doing the right thing, and given the opportunity will participate in the process.
Maybe we can all learn something from what I witnessed last night, but as always, what do I know.
