Bark loud in unison to bring about change
There’s something to be said about barking really loud and in unison. It draws attention, rattles cages, and thwarts potential evil doings. I should know. I live with Jack.
Jack is a rambunctious Italian greyhound and Sunday is my day to pick through the newspaper. What do these two have in common? Plenty.
Typically this is an enjoyable experience but not when Jack decides to drop a slobbery chew toy into my lap a hundred times. No matter how far I tossed it, he and the toy made their way back to my lap.
Annoyed, I shouted, “You can keep pestering me but I’m not giving in!” Jack wagged his tail and plopped the gooey toy in my lap.
I had no time for this. I was on a mission. Unfortunately, so was Jack.
As he zipped back and forth, he caught sight of a squirrel and suddenly Jack the Protector emerged. In his quest to defend home and owner from the evil fuzzy thing, he turned a quiet morning into a howling fiasco, particularly when our other two dogs joined in.
Barking really loud and in unison works. The squirrel hightailed it out of the yard. Jack and friends saved us from intruders. The world was right once again.
I poured a fresh cup of coffee and made comfy in the recliner to dissect the news.
The Region Section had an interesting article about access to government being scaled back (“Government access scaled back,” March 27). I presumed the Spokane county commissioners were concerned about their constituents. I also presumed that Spokane Valley’s infant city government was putting its baby rattles in a row before wrestling with citizen concerns.
In reality, a crackdown on public input into local government is in the works. Along with the PCBs in Medical Lake, we have the beginnings of political pollution.
It didn’t take long for our respective government officials to establish councils for the councils and by the councils.
County commissioner Todd Mielke, in response to the disbanding of a development task force, pointed out that not only had the task force completed its duties but that having meetings just to have meetings is a waste of time.
I could be wrong, but when you run for and are elected to a position that hinges on attending lots of meetings, well … let’s see … isn’t that your job?
Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite’s explanation in denying those who want to appear before the council was that when one neighborhood council is allowed presentation time, then others would follow suit.
Ah, yeah – but isn’t that democracy?
Since no immediate answers appeared to these questions, and Jack had thankfully flopped over to doggie dreamland, I delved further into the newspaper.
In the Parade section there was an article about C-SPAN CEO Brian Spann (“He tells it like he sees it”). Spann was quoted as saying, “The thing that gets under my skin more than anything else is that politicians have learned to never answer a question. They’ve learned to hide.”
Fortunately an article in the IN Life section on the mysteries of the dog universe (“Training system helps teach good dog manners”) provided an answer to the political snafu currently under way.
The column was on, of all things, why dogs bark when people come to the door. This is a definite Jack behavior issue, so I was eager for an explanation.
Dogs bark to warn when something’s awry and to protect the pack. The more the owner yells at their little basket case, the more they bark. The article noted that to an alpha pooch, yelling means you’re assisting them against an attack by unfriendly people, squirrels or an errant quail or two. The dog thinks, ‘Hey, the pack’s united behind me! Let’s get ‘em!’ ”
And there, in all its bad dog behavior explanation, was the human response needed when government goes awry.
A government for the people and by the people means we have a duty to make noise when our elected officials scale back access to government and learn to never answer questions.
When politicians shut the door in our faces, it’s time to practice what the canines have mastered – bark really loud and in unison!