This is a call for civility. This is a call to remember that come November 9, no matter who becomes our Mayor (not to mention our President), we will still be neighbors. We will still run into one another at fundraisers and in grocery stores. We will still, it is to be hoped, be able to look one another in the face, unashamed of things we've written in the heat of the moment from the safety and comfort of our keyboards.
This is an election year. This is a time of change. People get emotional about change. We feel hopeful or fretful about what the future will bring into our lives. We want more of the good stuff for the place we live and love, not less. We want the bad things, as we understand them, to stop. It worries us sometimes, makes us angry sometimes, makes us sad sometimes. It is deeply important to us and we take it very personally. We want to protect the things we love. That is understandable.
We are making it ugly...and dangerous.
We live in a democracy. In a democracy, you can disagree with a candidate's vision for the future; it is your right and more, your obligation. You can take exception to his or her political philosophy in general, think it's bad for the City or the Country. You can certainly disagree with that politician's interpretation of the facts pertinent to a policy position. Those are fundamental tenets of political discourse in civil, democratic societies. What you may not do is engage in attack on the character of the person. What you do not want to do is say publicly to that person what you would never say face to face. In civil societies, we do not accost someone in a public or private venue and attack her or his character. You would not, I sincerely hope, come up to me at an LHS football game or in the bathroom at a City Council meeting and call me a liar to my face. Full stop. You would not accuse me of being untrustworthy. Period. There is all the difference in the world between telling me you fundamentally disagree with my stance on an issue and bashing me as a person. Why? Because even if you truly believe those things, you would not (or should not) say them because it is uncivil, it is beneath your dignity, and it serves no higher purpose. All it does is urge the conversation into a downward spiral, one from which we both will somehow have to recover if we are to continue any pretense at civility in the future.
The mayoral election cycle has barely begun and it is already heading into that downward spiral. We are already engaging in name-calling and fear mongering and pot shots. All too rarely do I see on Facebook someone say something along the lines of, “I know what I want for Lompoc and based on what he's done in the past, he doesn't share my vision for this city.” Or, “If I had to pick between two future Lompocs, I'd pick the one that X wants.” Or, “I like the direction the City is going in and I think it's getting there because of him (or in spite of him)." Or, “He'll make sure ABC doesn't get out of hand.” Those are useful comments. Those help other Lompocans consider their own hopes for the future of their city, whether they believe it is good the way it is, or needs to change in ways.
Maybe you're for Lingl; maybe you're for Linn. Maybe you think neither of these men can do a satisfactory job with your city and you want some hoped-for third option. You cannot be blamed for how you feel, only for how you behave.
I am a member of Team Linn. All the members of Team Linn are on John's campaign website: linnforlompoc.com. We're right out there for all to see. So, you may choose to filter out what I'm writing here. You may decide to discount it as just more political hooey. I hope you will not. John and his team have no control over how his opponent—or opponents, as the case may be—choose to run their campaigns. We have no control over how Lompocans conduct themselves on social or traditional media. We can only say what we will do—and will not do. We will, in every situation, speak only to policies with which we disagree, not to the character of the people who support them. Yes, we will call out behaviors we believe are inappropriate and unhelpful, swiftly and forcefully. Likewise, we will express firmly our stance on every plank of John's and every other candidate's platform. But we will never engage in ad hominem attacks on our opponents, their supporters, or anyone else. Because we will always remember that they are, first and foremost, our neighbors, our colleagues, and oftentimes our friends.
There are ways to fight to protect the things you love and want to preserve. Some of which will make us better at being community members; others of which will lead to smoldering resentment. Some can lead to serendipitous outcomes; others only to a City on the verge of a meltdown. Both have happened to cities before. It's entirely up to us. Only we can decide which scenario to aim for.
