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Last night, I spoke with Sen. David Shafer about his idea regarding shifting the Georgia-Tennessee border in order to gain access to the Tennessee River. I had posted an article about the senator around 8:30 Monday night and by midnight I had an email from the him inviting me to call to talk about his idea. While I am not yet ready to summarize his comments during the call (I want to research some of his points a little more, not that I do not trust him, but simply out of due diligence), I do want to say that when you get the whole story, the idea is not nearly as far-fetched as it sounded in a brief news item on WSB Radio or a story on NBC Nightly News. The senator’s argument flowed very logically and seems to me, a non-lawyer, that there may well be a strong legal case here.
I see two lessons learned from this situation.
The first lesson - do not quickly jump to judgment based on a news clip. The news media is not exactly known for detailing a full exposition of the facts. Something may seem very different in a short news bite than it does in a rational examination of all supporting information. I found myself finding parallels in my reaction to the infamous McDonald’s coffee case. Most people who have only hear the popular rendition of the case would, as did I, take it to be a poster child of a frivolous lawsuit. However, when I studied this case in a graduate course on business law and looked at the supporting facts, the judgment against McDonald’s looked not only reasonable but also appropriate. Furthermore, I compounded my rush to judgment by my hair trigger sensitivity to politicians and government in general which was reflected in the condescending tone of my email to the senator. I thank him for seeing through this and being willing to reach out to make his case.
The second lesson - the Internet has revolutionized our relationship with our elected representatives and empowers average citizens. In the not so distant past, published political commentary was limited largely to broadcast and print media. However, what makes the political opinoin of a newspaper editor or columnist or a television news manager more important than that of any other citizen? Those careers do not impart any unique political wisdom that makes the political views of such individuals any more authoritative than you or I. However, until recently, this group effectively controlled access to who could present political commentary of any scale. In those days, if you wanted to be heard, your choices were limited both in quantity and effectiveness. However, with little more than a PC, some basic Internet and writing skills, and my time, I have a platform from which I can express my opinoin and attempt to influence our community’s political discourse. While I have paid to have a dedicated web address, what I am doing could be done at virtually no expense thanks to free bloghosting sites. While I am not claiming I am a threat to the AJC, the writing of Joe Average Citizen did attract the attention of a prominent Georgia state senator and potential candidate for Lt. Governor. That, my friends, is a revolution in our political process that represents real power to average citizens. In this case, I may have been off base in my posted viewpoint, but there are often cases where our elected officials need to be held accountable by the voters and today there is a more effective way to do that.
However, increased power comes with increased responsibility. More than ever, it is incumbent upon us to be politically aware and educated on the issues. Promulgating arguments based on erroneous facts and information can be much more harmful with the increased exposure. In addition, being politically ignorant makes one more vulnerable to misinformation, both intentional and unintentional, from politcians who are often reinforced by numerous uncritical, uninformed and/or illogical bloggers.. This is being demonstrated as we watch presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and their legions of leftist bloggers prey on the electorate’s fears, enviousness and economic ignorance in a quest for political power. While I do not want to turn a Gwinnett blog into a discussion center for national politics, I think the lessons learned with the Sen. Shafer proposal on the Tennessee River are very timely as the country faces a choice that may have significant ramifications for most if not all of Gwinnett’s citizens.
