Letter: Help Me Restore a Level of Faith in Our Democracy

I have been a registered voter for 30 years and cannot remember such levels of political animosity as evidenced in recent election cycles.  Extreme ideologies appear to overrule any efforts for civil debate. Compromise has become a forgotten word. Hypocrisy seems to be the norm and as a result our democratic system is suffering.

I believe in the statement, "Citizens have the power to set this country’s course straight" because change not only happens from the top down, but from the bottom up.  Throughout our country's history nothing has proven a more effective change agent than the collective voices and actions of citizens in every community in this great country.

During his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama spoke about the notion of reigniting citizen involvement in our political process, which for the record, is the only subject that Democrats and Republicans agree on.

However, the question looms… “How do we make this happen?” Especially in the aftermath of the fiscal cliff debacle, when public policy polling found that Americans hold Congress in lower regard than everything from cockroaches to NFL replacement referees.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand why citizens are largely divorcing themselves from the political process. There is a huge disconnect!

At the heart of the matter is the concern that we really don’t know what motivates the actions of the people who have the most important job in the world… governing us! Therefore, as a community advocate, I’m taking the lead in coordinating a local project with the assistance of residents (like you) and volunteers with Bolingbrook Community Television to further the objective of increasing resident knowledge about the public servants who govern us.

Over the course of this 2013, I welcome the assistance of other concerned residents who are willing to volunteer their time on a video production that lends a better understanding of the reasons and actions that have led every local elected official from the Village to the Park District, Library, School District as well as DuPage Township to seek public office.

It is my opinion that this type of grassroots effort can help restore a level of faith in our democratic system of governance. In a nutshell, enabling “civil” public discourse aids us all in becoming more informed voters (for the next election cycle) capable of separating fact from the fiction that is deeply imbedded in political rhetoric.

To participate on this project you must currently reside in Bolingbrook. For more information please contact me, Toni Greathouse via tlgreathouse@comcast.net.

Toni Greathouse