Two Sides to Every Story

When I used to be a reporter, I loved digging into what motivated the people behind the debates over policies, laws and regulations, no matter what level of government I was covering. It always floored me when policy discussions and decisions by people who could not be bothered to learn all sides of a story, and I had a deep craving to know how people directly affected by an issue or decision would feel. Also, I figured if I noticed something was missing, the people reading the news stories probably wanted to know the context too. I still feel that way---probably more than ever. For anyone who doesn't know it, it's full disclosure time: I ran for public office and lost in November 2010. I spent six months in a campaign for Frederick County Commissioner as a moderate Democrat hoping to bridge the divide between the County's conservatives and liberals, growthers and no-growthers, etc etc. The resulting governmental climate hasn't wholly been a good one, to my minds' eye. And not just because I lost, which would lead most people to think that naturally I have an ax to grind. No, it's a bit different because I actually agree with some of the changes the new Board of County Commissioners has made, especially those that have made it easier to do business in our community. What I dislike is the process the majority of the current group uses to make their decisions. They're in such a hurry to accomplish their To Do list, that there doesn't seem to be time to discuss whether there are ways to do things better, more inclusively, or with all the facts at hand. The due diligence, information gathering, and looking under rocks to make sure all the possibilities have been considered is lost---sometimes, I think, purposefully. After all, its easier to make decisions that fit your mindset when you don't have the information that cause you to change your mind! After taking the past year off from politics and taking stock of the decisionmaking, this blog is my way of using my voice again---but not on an election ballot. Through this bi-weekly blog, I'll take random issues of the day, sometimes local, sometimes national, and try to look at them through the eyes of people in our community who are directly affected by them. Sometimes it may be the average Joe (I hear Joe the Plumber is running for president, isn't that amazing); sometimes it may be the decisionmakers themselves who are my topics or inspiration. I also invite other moderate voices to use this as a place to discuss what's happening in our community. If you're interested in being a guest blogger, have an open mind and no ax to grind and pledge to be civil and avoid polarizing language, just let me know and we'll talk. As always with bloggers, I hope I'll get lots of comments; ideas from you, the readers, about topics that need to be explored. I hope I can do my part to add a little depth and context to the issues of the day---and help those of us who really want to understand that there are two sides to every story.