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 Will We Do The Work?
by Tom Campbell
November 16, 2006
The task of a columnist is to stimulate our thinking, encouraging us to formulate our own opinions. Paul O’Conner, writing in The Winston-Salem Journal, did just that recently.
His column began with the statement that the American Democracy is not well. Too many officials are automatically elected without anyone casting a vote; they run unopposed. More have only token opposition, because their districts are formed specifically to protect them. This acts to suppress the vote, rather than turning it out. The November elections in our state bear O’Conner out, as only 31 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. When elected, these officials further suppress the vote, concocting rules about where, when and for which parties you can vote. The race for campaign money seeks out big donors, those with agendas that often don’t coincide with the best interests of other constituents. Individual citizens are largely left out.
O’Conner concluded by saying that voters can take back their government, but that it will be hard work, and he has doubts that we are willing to do that much work. What a thought starter!
Have we become so self-centered, so complacent, so jaded in the political process that we do not care about our government? Do we not think it is important who represents us, how they serve us and what ethics they employ? Are the issues not significant, the debate not worth engaging, and the outcomes not important to us?
For decades North Carolina proudly boasted we were a “good government” state, but recent evidence questions whether this might be false pride. Only approximately two dozen of the 170 seats in the legislature were genuinely contested. Candidates raised record amounts of money, mostly from fat cat lobbyists and business executives. The past few years have seen major political figures indicted and convicted of abusing the public trust. Ethics have eroded to the point where most anything goes.
Meanwhile, our state leaders refuse to address significant issues like revamping our feeble mental health reforms, taking control of an education establishment that isn’t providing an acceptable education for our children, winking at a road crisis, and ignoring the long-overdue tax code reforms. They can, under highly questionable circumstances, pass a lottery, allow athletes and booster clubs special treatment, and be irresponsible in spending record amounts of tax dollars in an effort to get reelected. It is clear our leaders aren’t willing to do the hard work or make the hard choices necessary.
And when no more than 31 percent of us show up to vote, we signal to them we aren’t willing to do the work either. If true, what will become of this state? History is full of stories of tyrants, megalomaniacs, and power-hungry fanatics who seized control from those who weren’t willing to stop them.
O’Conner’s question deserves some soul searching. Are we willing to do the work to ensure North Carolina’s government is truly representative and serving the public? What will you do?
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