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So I was sitting at another city council meeting this past Thursday night, May 26th, here in Victoria, wishing that I could be anywhere else in the whole world except there.
This is not a new sentiment. Leaving the comfort of my home for two to three nights a month for the discomfort of hours on a hard plastic chair in the Victoria City Council Chambers is a 25-year phenomenon for me. And I've been throwing around that "25-year" phrase for a whole year already.
Attending city council meetings has never been my favorite thing to do. It's not creative. It's not fun. It's not fast. The wheels of government turn slowly and lots of times they squeak.
Writing city council scoop for the Gazette is a chore like doing the laundry. You keep doing it every so often, whenever the hamper is full, most of it on a regular wash cycle with low suds, little bleach, and just enough detergent to get out the dirt.
It was long ago I learned that local newspapers are supposed to carry news about local government, so that's what I continue to do. And on all of the other pages I get to put everything else I want. Perhaps you've noticed.
But regarding these City Scoop pages, I feel quite responsible. I want to make sure that you, the citizens and taxpayers of Victoria, know exactly what your elected and appointed representatives and hired staff say and do. Checks and balances are good for everybody, whether we are of account or no account.
Also, it seems only fitting that there's a section of the Gazette that makes me suffer a little bit. In that painful vein, there was more than the average amount of suffering on May 26th when a huge canker sore erupted that evening and spilled pus all over the place.
Here's the laundry list: there was an embarrassing and accusatory question posed to our Sheriff, suggesting unseemly motivation on his part; there was a failure to recognize that long-winded speeches are out of place everywhere; there was the rude shutting-down of an elected city councilmember; there were shouting and condescending voices - none of them from the audience, all of them from our elected city councilmembers, the men, not the ladies.
The evening was a sad public commentary on what has been creeping into our homeland. Maybe I could say, "slithering in on its belly." In any case, I think it's high time to put a fork in its head.
I'm not sure just exactly how or when the snake entered, although I've got my suspicions, but it seems that both kindness and courtesy are being blown to smithereens in various venues of this village and, since I don't pretend well nor do I evade the facts, I'll put it to paper for you, as I see it.
The finest neighborhoods, most attractive street lights, and greatest number of new churches mean little if we can't politely bear the imperfections of our neighbors.
The highest berms, widest sideyard setbacks, and thickest foliage mean little if nastiness lies in our nooks and craniums.
An elaborate elementary school, a Catholic high school, and a School of the Wise mean little if we can't graduate to patience and prudence and a host of other virtues.
I recognize and appreciate Victoria Councilmembers for the extraordinary amount of time, effort, and energy that they give to us, the common citizen. They spend many more hours each month at city meetings than this lowly editor, albeit they have cushioned chairs, some salary remuneration for Friday nights out on the town, and the prestige of being cable TV personalities.
Victoria City Councilmembers also carry large responsibility for becoming knowledgeable with the plans and specifications of governing so that their votes are cast wisely.
I would exhort them, however, to remember that, by their very office, they have a calling higher than the rest of us. They are elected to be public servants and, as such, must show respect to us and to each other, publicly if not also privately. They must take to heart the term "public servant."
Victoria councilmembers must give people, including each other, more than the time of day. If they are, indeed, pillars of our community, they must hold us up by using muscles of the heart as well as of the mind. And, contrary to secular theology, character does count.
If Victoria councilmembers are wont to excuse themselves for poor behavior in the conducting of city council business and relationships, how can they hold the rest of us - or their own children or grandchildren -- to good behavior?
Victoria councilmembers must put up with each other in a civil manner. They must teach by good example. No excuses. It's part of their higher calling.
For starters, they must consider patience, kindness, gentleness, and self control. Life is a struggle but we can't let it demean us. It's not good for people. It's not good for the City of Victoria.
And now I'll finish this column as it started. I'd rather be anywhere else than sitting on a hard plastic chair for hours at a Victoria City Council meeting. It was especially hard on May 26th.
~Sue
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