Servants of Democracy

At his swearing in, the newly elected Mayor of Groveland Keith Keogh made two points quite clear – 1. citizens are the leaders and 2. elected officials are the servants to the citizens. I cannot agree more with him. 

Once a year in selected municipalities and every two years in our state and federal jurisdictions, the citizens decide their servants. Yes, servants. Through voting, We the People choose who We the People allow to represent us, to make policy for us and to decide the best solutions going forward. 

Those elected are chosen as navigators to guide us through our constitutional republic democratic government. Their job to reconciliate, compromise, find and create consensus, raise or lower taxes, keep drinkable water running, electricity on and ultimately our society safe, just and cohesive is no easy task.

When our representative is not doing their job, the responsibility of rectifying the situation is not put on the representative, it is placed solely on us. That responsibility is vital for a properly working republic however with unengaged citizens, we create an unaccountable government. We place our representatives in positions of service and if that service is not rendered the onus of recourse is squarely our responsibility. The available consequences include our vote which has the power of keeping in or out of office those who represent us. Another way of removing an unresponsive representative is recall or an election after an election. Impeachment is the third where we pressure our representative to remove the president. All these procedures are legal and ways of keeping our servants servicing us. 

Have we become a complaining country where we complain for the simple fact that we can? There is honesty in that question. We do live in a free country where speech is considered complaining at times. Yet, to get something done, we need to go beyond complaining and venture into making our representative accountable. So, when an issue arises pick up the phone and talk to them. That is what they are there for. Keep in mind complaining is one way to voice your opinion yet if you want to make a stronger statement, vote and vote often. Your representative pays attention to your vote much more than your complaining. 

My mother had an issue with her state representative, so she called his office. An assistant picked up the phone and responded by saying her representative would get back to her in 24 hours. In an hour, my mother was on the phone with that very representative. She identified the problem. The representative addressed it and offered a solution. He finished by saying he would take care of it. Within 12 hours, the issue was resolved. Soon after that representative became our Florida State House Speaker. If we are not here to serve, why are we here?    

Farmer Banks Helfrich teaches gardening monthly at Florida Blue Clermont and on his seven-acre farm in north Clermont. Farm tours are every 2nd Sunday. Call Banks for more information. (407) 616-9720