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Be Part of the Solution
I choose to be part of the solution vs. complaining about my situation online, and you can too. Here are some ideas how.
What often results are statements made in haste, lacking in context or cues, and often without a realization of the impact. These comments are often interpreted quickly in the most negative of contexts - perhaps more negatively than originally intended. What transpires are equally hastily-made retorts, and a vicious cycle of rudeness and inhumanity ensues, of which no one is ultimately proud.
What often results are statements made in haste, lacking in context or cues, and often without a realization of the impact. These comments are often interpreted quickly in the most negative of contexts - perhaps more negatively than originally intended. What transpires are equally hastily-made retorts, and a vicious cycle of rudeness and inhumanity ensues, of which no one is ultimately proud.
Let’s take a theoretical example: “Rockwall City Council and the Mayor are corrupt and don’t care what citizens think.”
There are many ways this can be interpreted, and without social cues, body language and tone among others, it’s hard to understand the intent here. To be clear, intent is paramount.
Here are some possible explanations behind this sort of statement. This person could:
1. Be lazy and just likes making sweeping emotional statements without expending any effort registering to vote, obtaining facts or actually casting a vote in the Rockwall municipal election (this happens more often than you may think)
2. Love to stir the pot, create drama and laughingly observe what happens next
3. Have been the unfortunate recipient of a situation that impacted their family but was in the best interests of the long-term plan for the City
4. Have actual evidence of some fraud
However, without any of the context, it’s hard to understand exactly what that person meant and how to proceed. In essence, these comments are not helpful.
Here are some facts to consider:
-Less that 4% of our city voted in the last municipal election (for you precious few who did, we appreciate your showing up to exercise your rights). We know exactly who did and did not vote.
-We have ~45,000 bosses. If anyone has tried to please more than one boss, you know well how challenging this can be. Just because one vocal person - or group - did not get their one personal wish does not mean that the other 44,000 didn’t get what they wanted.
-We have to consider how a one small decision today affecting one group can impact our entire way of life in 20 - 30 years for our kids.
As I am wont to be involved in the discussion in our wonderful community, I tend to respond to more online than is required, and certainly much more than is advised for someone in public office. I like my bosses (all y’all citizens of Rockwall) to know how I think and understand my point of view, just as I love to hear your points of view. What I have learned is how large an effort this online back-and-forth can be.
What if we took all the online “keyboard warrior” energy we expended complaining and pontificating on forums such as Rockwallian? Imagine what a community we could have if so many folks were so interested in furthering our fair city?
Well I have some solutions for you. Because my professional career in consulting requires taking complex situations and trying to make sense of them, I of course created a scoring model. My short attention span demands colors, and so I have color-coded it. My intent is to be helpful for our citizens to better understand how y’all can get informed, get involved and make a difference.
I have ranked these options by initial effort, ongoing effort and impact. This isn’t set in stone, and is certainly open to critique. At the end of the day, I just hope every one of y’all does one/many/all of these options to further your positive impact on Rockwall.