Who works for whom?

Shirley told me of a conversation she had with a selectman a few years back. She asked, "Why don't you ever come to East Falmouth?"

The selectman answered, "I go where the votes are."

Some would say that this is a reflection on the voting patterns in East Falmouth, but I think it is a perfect example of the kind of backward thinking that is all too common in government.

If you only go where the votes are, you'll miss a substantial number of people. As I went door to door during my campaigns for selectman, I found myself talking to people who had never heard from their elected officials. A common refrain was, "You are the first person to knock on my door in the decades that I've lived here." Many of these folks never voted in a local election because they didn't think anyone cared. They felt disenfranchised, so they didn't vote.

It doesn't always have to be this way, and my election last year proved that. The right candidate with the right message will bring out the voters, but you have to go where the people are. The votes will follow.

A similar thing happens all too often inside the walls of town hall. When something goes wrong, there is a bunker mentality - a circle-the-wagons response - which is all about damage control and protecting the town.

I see it differently.

The people are the town, and government works for the people. Instead of protecting the government and those who work for it, protect the people. Take, for example, the George Morse situation. When questions were raised, town government rushed to protect its own reputation. Mr. Morse was left to fend for himself.

What if this was approached in another way?

What if the town had worked to protect Mr. Morse's reputation? In that case, there would be no unfounded rumors swirling around. For example, one rumor is that Mr. Morse overstepped his authority by arresting a man in Harwich. In fact, if a constable has a warrant (Mr. Morse did), he can arrest someone in any town in Massachusetts, no matter which town appointed him.

If we think of the people first, and act always in the best interest of the people, the integrity of government will be protected. If we act in the best interest of government, we are creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. The people don't care - and don't vote - because they feel disenfranchised. Why don't the people care or vote? Because government appears to be more interested in protecting itself than in working for the people. Why is government more interested in protecting itself than in working for the people? Because the people don't care and don't vote.

This is a death spiral for a democracy. Eventually, there is so much apathy that the government becomes self-perpetuating, protecting itself and its interests without thought or concern for the people it was created to serve. Without public participation, corruption sets in.

WE - the leaders - are the only ones who can break this cycle. It is incumbent upon us to make government work for the people. Only when we work for the people do the people participate. Only when people participate do we have real democracy.