A quick note from JohnL...
As parents to our young daughter, my wife and I try to speak to her in positives. This means saying what we want her to do to provide instruction, rather than just telling her what not to do. For example, rather than saying “don’t put your finger in the electrical outlet,” I would say “keep your fingers away from there.” Eventually this will evolve into saying “focus on your school work and building yourself as an individual” rather than telling her “don’t date until you’re 30.”
Our goal is to provide instruction and set expectations based on what actions we would like her to take, rather than saying “no, no, no…” ad nauseum (my wife will point out, correctly, that I have a lot of room for improvement in this practice). After all, would you prefer to have someone following you around repeatedly telling you what you can’t or shouldn't do, or someone giving you clear and concise direction on what you can and should be doing?
While observing the chat and comments both online and in the real world, it has become a recurring theme for people to complain about a public official or department, or worse, call for their resignation or call them names without offering any sort of example of what they have done to draw such ire. In the rare event that a specific decision, policy, or inaction can be identified, it is even rarer to find the complainer who can also articulate a rational, reasonable, and appropriate action that the official or department should have done instead, or what they can do in the future.
This attitude of everyone is wrong, wrong, wrong is no different than following a toddler and shouting “no, no, no.” It’s a waste of breath, not because the officials aren’t listening (I’ve interacted with many, often to discuss bold accusations and general questions posed on the chat. They’re listening, and they’re open to discussion on a wide berth of topics if one only takes the time to ask questions), it is a waste of breath because it does not offer clear direction on what you, the populous, would like to see done.
One of the (if not the primary) features of DarkeJournal.com is to provide you an online outlet for communication and discussion. While the anonymous nature of the internet can dilute this discussion, I believe we should strive for a higher level of communication. Let’s discuss the issues surrounding our city, villages, and county, but let’s do it in a manner that uses some thought, reason, and understanding. Let’s avoid the temptation of effortlessly, lazily lobbing accusations and name calling, and instead embrace real dialogue of what can be done to enjoy the positives we have in our favor, and what can be done to improve the negatives. We’ve spent enough time pointing out the flaws in our communities. Let’s spend some energy on what we can do to make them better.
