Democracy takes engagement

Although a lot of people are rejoicing that the political season has finally ended, it actually has just begun. And that’s a good thing.

Not the relentless pandering for votes, the long march to the polls, the robo-calls on your answering machine, the brutal attack ads – all the stuff that elections are about. I’m talking about the work that begins after the leadership decisions are made and the public and its elected officials begin the business of setting public policy.

David Mathews, president of the Kettering Foundation, once said that voting is the last thing we do, his point being that the people in a democratic system have a duty to be engaged as citizens not just at the polls but all year long.

“Voting is confined to options that already exist,” wrote Mathews, a former cabinet secretary and university president. When it does come time to vote, people who weigh in early and energetically get to select from options of their own choosing.

But while Mathews suggests the vote is the culmination of the engagement process, I submit it’s also the beginning. We choose our leaders so they can do a job, and when the ballots have been counted, it’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get started.

Us – not them.

We can’t really call it a self-governing system if people aren’t part of the process, but to do that they need public spaces, both literal and figurative, where they can exchange ideas about the things that matter in their lives. Newspapers have a role to play here, especially on their opinion pages. The letters, columns and editorials that appear here are meant to be a vigorous forum where readers can challenge and be challenged, and where they can grow in their own understanding of the community while nurturing the growth of others.

OK, there’s some screaming and ranting every once in a while. Even a garden of ideas needs to be fertilized.

Meanwhile, we at The Spokesman-Review think it’s important from time to time to engage you in that dialogue at a more personal level than we achieve through mail, e-mail and fax machines. Thus, we’ve scheduled a series of public forums where we hope you will join us in a conversation about the issues our readers identify as significant.

A list of the times, dates and places accompanies this column. Newspaper representatives including writers and editors will be there to answer your questions about the way we work and to ask you for insights about community affairs. What are your concerns about life in this region? What gives you hope? What are the most critical decisions that need to be made by state, local and federal government, and what’s at stake for you and your family?

We have just elected a president, some members of Congress and various state and county officials, and we have a democratic duty to monitor their performance. What’s more, we will be voting in less than a year on town and city officers, and Idaho’s and Washington’s legislatures both will convene soon. Your input will help this newspaper plan its coverage of those activities and to shape its agenda for editorial commentary about them in the coming months.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the just-concluded campaigns has been the sense that the agenda had been set by outsiders. Political appeals were being made to citizens of the Inland Northwest on the basis of issues that were chosen and framed by faraway people who have money and influence but don’t necessarily have our interests at heart.

We have scheduled the upcoming forums in order to hear your unfiltered opinions about the issues that require community attention. I hope you’ll join us.