— by Margie Doyle —
Lady Liberty walks a tightrope
As the publisher, editor and journalist of a community news service, I grow every day in my appreciation of independence. I get a charge when people respond to my values of integrity, responsibility and government, as expressed in articles, opinions and editorials in Orcas Issues.
I also get a charge out of divergent and contrary opinions for making me think and test my perceptions against differing viewpoints.
I love bringing historical perspective to the situations we face on Orcas, be it Madrona Point, the Charter Commission, ownership/development of Rosario, our three theaters (Grange, Seaview and Orcas Center) the Eastsound swale, and medical practices.
I love deciding what I think is important to “cover” in a professional ‘voice of the community’
I love including poetry by local poets in celebration of poetry month, and our polls, sometimes quirky, sometimes dead serious. I love it when someone posts that they’ve lost their tools off their truck, and someone else brings them in to the local library to pick them up. I love that when the Fire Department or Orcas Family Connections hear of a neighbor in need, they know the people they can call on for reinforcement.
Independence, as it pertains to government, takes on a special meaning this July 4.
I think what I appreciate most about running a community news service is the conversations I have with myself and with others about the shared values of community life, and the performance of local government.
When I lived in Kodiak, Alaska, I loved that everybody went to church together and everybody danced together. Regardless of wealth, appearance or age. I think Orcas is a lot like that, and I treasure what smallness and closeness and independence bring us.
I like it when the power goes out – even the internet – or the ferries don’t run, because it reminds us of what it is like to be self-reliant and basic.
Independence is a contradiction – the more you govern yourself, the less you need government to govern you. Interdependence guarantees independence, while segregation and rejection bring failure, impoverishment and hostilities.
As I think about the revolution that gave 13 little colonies of Great Britain their independence as the United States of America, I philosophize about the sentiments that brought us to revolution and made independence an imperative for the American way of life.
Being represented in government, having a say in the laws that govern us, was one of those values. Having a say in how our money was spent was another: no taxation without representation.
We weren’t exceptional; remember we institutionalized slavery and kept it legal long after other civilized countries, like the England we rebelled against, outlawed it. And, oh, yes, women were considered the property of their husband and didn’t have the vote until 1920. Thank you League of Women Voters, who still work to represent and speak for American values.
So independence depends on the preservation and integrity of two basic systems to represent a republic, or a democracy, or liberty —true representation and fair taxing.
In the 70s the progressive bible was Small is Beautiful, and I’m a convert. Because small brings immediacy and responsiveness and directness, whereas big brings layers of complexity and authority and questioning.
Better to have 13 well-established colonies than one big United States. Better to have state militias arm themselves when danger is immediate than a standing army that can be turned against the people. Better to have two or three nuts or village idiots than one repressive Big Brother whom you have to agree with.
That’s what independence means to me.
But it depends upon self regulation, self discipline and individual exercise of the duties of government to guarantee to safeguard the rights of the governed. That’s why I’m so passionate about involvement in local, civic government.
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Better to have discussions, debates and compromises, than rebellions and war. I’ve found that small and local gives both more independence and more responsiveness than big and multi-layered. And yet, we’re part of a much much bigger world especially in regards to our laws, our representation and our taxes.
Here on Orcas, we’re able to “fly below the radar” in many circumstances; yet when we are detected on the radar it can become personal and painful if we’ve violated the letter of someone’s law; here on Orcas we have the pace of life that protects mental health and social inclusion; here on Orcas, the drawbacks of modern civilization (freeways, high-rise buildings) are outweighed by the satisfaction of walkable villages, personal entrepreneurship and owner-builder properties.
As we grow and develop and change, we need to be vigilant, to be disciplined and to be considerate of our neighbors and our diversity. Rugged individualism can be taken too far, as can communal sharing. If you live close enough to a neighbor who looks in on you when you’re laid up, then you ought not complain if their kid plays basketball and interrupts your peace and quiet.
Excellently presented, Margie!
And I am glad I live in the vortex
of peace and tranquility.
Gemini 2
Margie
Thank you for capturing my thoughts and expressing them so beautifully .
From San Juan Island,
Tom Starr
Ditto and well stated. Long Live America and tolerance and accountability.
Thank you, Margie, well said and ditto.
This is such a thoughtful, rich and deep pondering it could be the premise of neighborhood discussion groups.
(I need a hard copy!) Your articulation, Margie, affirms why those of all political stripes appreciate your unique brand of community journalism. Thank you for the stimulation and care, and Happy Independence Day!
Thanks for publishing all points of view, Margie. Isn’t this country about common ground? Tripartite government, checks and balances? Doesn’t that include civil discourse, finding that common ground? (All of us care about the uses of private property, for example.) Not trying to outshout others with our POV, but actively listening, giving cogent replies…so as to stimulate deep thought, informing oneself, as required of every citizen, before entering the voting booth. Orcas has a more literate, library-using, varied populace; a community that cares for each other regardless of political belief.
Orcas Issues is a large part of staying in touch, on many levels, for all of us. Keep up the good work.
We are so lucky to have this stellar, independent, up-to-the-minute community paper which, as Carol Owens notes, publishes “all points of view.” Please consider paying whatever you can for a subscription or one-time donation, so we can continue to have this amazing, invaluable resource– I write this as a daily reader, who values the varied “comments section” as much as the posted articles. Naively, I had not understood until recently that putting out an on line paper costs a lot of money. Carol Owens is so right when she reminds us that “Orcas Issues is a large part of staying in touch, on many levels, for all of us.” Huge thanks to Margie and Lin.
You nailed it, Margie. Similarly, I’ve been working on a parody of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” entitled “Under the Radar,” same thoughts as yours, not as elegant, but presentable by August Brown Bag Concert time. Walking a Tightrope – great analogy; Thanks for all you do, for all of us. You nailed it!
As seen on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial – Washington DC:
“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
Thomas Jefferson
I love it when anyone suggests a standing army can be turned against the people. As to “the sentiments that brought us to revolution and made independence an imperative for the American way of life,” please read “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn.
“There is an underside to every age about which history does not often speak.”