National surveys on Americans’ knowledge of government indicate a lack of understanding of some of the basic features of our system and our responsibilities as citizens. A couple of points that may be more well-known among the citizenry and serve as the foundation for my campaign for Commissioner are provided below.
Top Management. America is a self-governing constitutional republic. “We the People” are top management. We must hold our elected representatives “accountable,” but we are always “responsible” for the results.
As representatives of Top Management, What are our successes and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges? What are our priorities for improvement? What methods can we or do How do you think are we doing, and how would you know? we use to help ensure that any needed change will result in improvement? Should the proposed solution also be supported by the identification, scope, and extent of the problem?
Citizen/ Jurist. The one responsibility of all citizens is to serve as jurists. This requires the application of critical thinking skills. This involves reviewing the facts and evidence, listening to both sides of an argument and the counterarguments, listening to the closing arguments, and then making a decision. Decisions can be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court. Time is not a constraint on the process.
- These same knowledge, skills, and processes apply to providing input and support for county policies and proposed changes that affect our economic well-being and quality of life. Controversial decisions that can be fast-tracked (rushed) and determined by one-sided arguments create divisiveness. An “appeal” once a decision is made is generally manifested in a permanent lack of support for the respective change and can include actions to amend or reverse the decision.
A more deliberate and collaborative decision-making process will always produce better solutions in the long term and gain wider support. People may disagree with the final decision but can respect the process to include an acknowledgment that their voice was heard. Built-in checks to assess that the change is resulting in the expected improvement is also part of the process.
Improvment. Methods and tools supporting improvement are provided at the following link:
https://browncountyleadernetwork.com/
