Commit to work together

Political differences don’t have to stop progress

So here is what happened when a young, staunch conservative and a somewhat older, staunch liberal had an open and honest conversation one night after a meeting of the Washington County Quorum Court:

The liberal, a member of the community, walked up to the conservative, who is a current justice of the peace on the court, and asked this simple question: “Can’t we do this without raising taxes?”

That question, which was asked with kindness and concern, was answered in turn with kind consideration. There was no yelling or hostility. As a result of that question and answer, a line of communication was opened which has led to a collaborative partnership of working together to find solutions to the problems we face in our community. Since that time over a year ago, there have been many other conversations between these two unlikely allies, and problems have been addressed and solved.

Certainly, we don’t agree on everything, and that shouldn’t be the expectation when we reach out to others. But we feel comfortable discussing and trying to solve problems because we know the other is not going to be disrespectful or dismissive. Our goal is to highlight that there is a lot of progress that can be made by sharing ideas, debating, and yes, even disagreeing.

A conservative and a liberal working together and having open, respectful dialogue with one another, and developing a friendship and partnership. Surprising? Yes, unfortunately, in this very divisive time in our country and county. But is this really a new concept? No, it is actually a tried and true method of solving problems, of getting things accomplished, of people working together and finding common ground.

It just doesn’t seem to be happening right now as it has in the past.

However, it can if we are respectful of those with different backgrounds and viewpoints, if we listen to others, if we aren’t afraid to step outside our comfort zones, we can all find more things that bring us together than drive us apart.

This partnership of a member of the community and an elected official working together also highlights the importance of community members being informed and involved in our local government. It’s easy to do that these days with Zoom, YouTube, and other electronic communication. Community involvement is essential to a robust and transparent county government. People with different backgrounds bring different perspectives and, therefore, different knowledge and experiences, and different solutions.

Now more than ever we must commit to having open and honest dialogue with one another, to not only speak, but to listen to each other and find common ground. That is how problems get solved. The work ahead and challenges are immense. Let’s commit to working together in a collaborative way!