Thoughtful Criticism of Government Is a Vital Part of the Democratic Process (Opinion)

What's with all the angry people on TV these days? Some of the images from news reports from congressional town hall meetings held during the summer recess to discuss health-care reform made me cringe. The red-faced, shouting, spit-flinging tirades of so many people made me wonder if our nation can still have civilized public discourse. When you add to that a congressman shouting, "You lie!" at the president of the United States while he spoke to a joint session of Congress, you can't help but worry that perhaps the American democratic process has seen better days.

Of course, this sort of display during a public meeting is hardly new to local government officials. The "public comment" section of their weekly meeting agendas regularly evoke the angry and the rude seeking an audience for their tirades.

Those of us who believe in and support the governance process must find a way to help stop the current fad of people shouting past one another armed with little more than slogans and sound bites. Thoughtful criticism of government is an important part of the democratic process, but I blame the gasbag talking heads on cable channels and talk radio for fueling the flames of discord with little regard for the truth. Somewhere along the line, rumors and disinformation replaced data, facts and well reasoned thoughts as a foundation for political engagement.

So what can a local government IT person do about a problem that on the surface seems to call for an old-school fourth-grade teacher with a whistle, a ruler and an ability to enforce good manners and polite behavior?

First of all, we can resist getting angry even when everyone seems to be angry with us. As government continues to bring change to community life - and change will continue to come either as a result of new political policies or continuing financial strains brought about by the current recession - we can look for ways to mitigate angst and anger with data and facts. In my experience, people get angry when what they think they know just isn't so. Government has an obligation to be open, transparent and factual; and good IT can provide the cornerstone of efforts to meet that obligation.

That's because IT is politically neutral. It's neither Democrat nor Republican, liberal nor conservative. It's simply a tool for managing and delivering public service and a means for collecting and managing information upon which good decisions can be made. By working to get that information out of legacy systems and government files and making it available and easily accessible through Web 2.0 and social networking platforms, people who are interested can educate themselves with the truth and insert a dose of reality into public debate. The absence of facts leaves us with appearances, and on the basis of appearances people form perceptions that quickly become political fact. It's an unfortunate cycle IT professionals can help break.

The political holy warriors aren't going away anytime soon, but government can and should do more to provide support to those who are interested in truth and reason. It's the only way I can see us avoiding sitting in the dark nursing the burns that come from too much heat and too little light.

If you're interested in learning more about how some leading communities are using IT to improve the quality of their public debate, you can contact me at tsander@centerdigitalgov.com