There’s been grumbling around Peachtree City lately that our City Council is becoming more like a spinoff of the “Drop Dead Diva” show that is filmed here.
They point to dramatic headlines in the smaller local papers, which sometimes give the tabloids a run for their money. The mayor and some council members trade barbs in print and online, which of course carries over into public meetings. I’ve seen less elbowing at our dearly departed Thrashers’ games.
The flames were further fanned last week when three council members voted to censure Mayor Don Haddix. The two-page paddling took nine “whereases” to reach its six-part “be it resolved” climax. For a nonbinding resolution, it seemed to leave all involved with a major panty twist.
One council member said she’s been asked about “that delicate situation” in Peachtree City, as if our local government had gotten mysteriously pregnant. We’re not having labor pains, just the same economic and political pains as everyone else. It would take a lot more than that to burst our PTC bubble.
Rancor in government is reaching new highs (or lows, depending on how you gauge it) all over the place. “Workplace incivility” was a topic at the 2011 national meeting of the American Psychological Association.
A recent poll called “Civility in America 2011” tried to measure just low we can go. The survey reported that 85 percent of Americans think “politics is becoming increasingly uncivil,” and that such behavior is spilling over into our work and personal lives.
It’s not like Fayette County’s various governing bodies have been all buttered grits and sweet tea up until now.
Been to a County Commission meeting lately? Just mention the word “bypass” and someone’s going to have a coronary over road construction. And some of the exchanges at the Board of Education have earned an “F” for “frosty.”
But all that pales in comparison to Atlanta’s cheating scandal and misdeeds by officials elsewhere in Georgia, not to mention what’s happening in Congress.
Face it, no one — local, state or national — runs for office because he or she has wishy-washy opinions or shies away from the limelight. Some of these people don’t just want to get their point across, they want to sharpen it first.
And at the local level, it’s even more imperative to use good judgment and watch your tongue. There may be six degrees of separation in the world, but in our little corner of it, there are only two or three. Nastiness is contagious.
Tough times bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. The latter is just louder.
None of which is to say that residents anywhere should accept behavior from their elected officials that they wouldn’t tolerate in their children or their dogs.
Those with opposing views are still ultimately charged with finding common ground, not pushing harder until a debate becomes a debacle.
Rhetorically speaking, drop dead, divas.
Jill Howard Church lives in Fayette County. Reach here at jillptcblog@aol.com
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