Keep The Focus On Government Officials’ Actions Not Their Unknowable Motivations
One of the Charlestown Town Councilors recently made the extraordinary statement that I had repeatedly accused the Council of “being on the take.” That isn’t a phrase I use, but I have also not accused them of accepting bribes or any other unlawful activity that would be equivalent to “being on the take.”
I believe that bad decisions can be made for many reasons including belief, political philosophy, emotion, limited knowledge, erroneous facts, personal interest, or even too little public input, but actual instances of financial corruption are extremely rare. On the other hand, full transparency combined with a complete lack of corruption won’t on its own result in decisions that serve the public interest.
When government officials make decisions that seem to serve a minority interest or that do not seem to serve the interest of the public, taxpayers, or the environment, it is not unusual for members of the public to assume a financial or other corrupt influence. That is an unfortunate distraction because it moves the public’s focus away from what government officials are doing to their often-unknowable motivation for doing it. Believing in financial corruption as the main motivator leads the public to believe that government is immovable and not worth the effort to engage. Even the silly accusation against me that I have made false accusations of graft is meant as a distraction from the real issues.
For the record, I have no evidence or reason to believe that anyone on the Town Council is involved in financial corruption. I do believe however that many of their decisions will have long-term negative environmental and fiscal impacts.
Trying to bully me with angry words, false accusations, and name-calling won’t stop me from questioning or discussing Charlestown Town Council decisions or stop me from trying to engage the public in those issues and decisions. I hope that the public will engage on the important issues and not be distracted by speculating about motivations, but that is not something I can control.
You can learn more about the author, Ruth Platner, at her profile page.
Banner image is a photograph of a Barred owl by Tom Tetzner.
February 18, 2024 @ 4:50 pm
Hi Ruth, and many many thanks for all the energy, time, and hard work that you have committed over the years to try and keep intact Charlestown’s rural character that so many of us moved here to enjoy, and to protect the quality of our well water. Despite the occasional mud-slinger you know that very many of us in the town know and fully appreciate your honesty, sincerity, and integrity. Please keep it up, thanks.