Tonight I attended a local government meeting in a locality where I'd never before attended one. 17 out of the 18 people spoke out in favor of the item I'd gone to see, and the one who spoke against made reasoned pointed for his opposition. I've spent a good chunk of my life reporting on local government and now attending meetings in a different role.
I've been interested in municipal government since I was in middle school, when my neighborhood banded together to successfully fight a development project. Even then I could see the developer's point of view and tried to understand all of the arguments.
In the city where I live, there are really good discussions going on about the future. The last year or so have been difficult with new people coming into the system and wanting to know how things work. I've watched the process unfold and I have faith that Charlottesville will be a better place for the current conversations that are going on.
I learned early on in my journalism career that I wanted no part of covering national politics. I spent late 1995 and early 1996 covering the Republican primary in New Hampshire, and realized that a lot of that was just pointless theater, so disconnected from the day to day.
Tonight I see a lot of people talking about the political theater going on, and I wish I could convey the energy in the room tonight in Greene County, as well as the energy at the Albemarle meeting I went to before. Our civilization depends on healthy debate and I'm glad to be focused on the level government where I see that happening every single time I walk into a municipal building. I have hope because I see so many people who care about their communities.
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