MY TURN: Where is the “Greater Good”?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 9:22AM By Tim Brown
I was at a breakfast meeting this morning. When we arrived at that place on our agenda for announcements, one of the attendees reminded all of us that if we did not want a minority group to rule the majority, we should attend the City Council Meeting on February 22nd and speak in support of the Ronald Reagan Statue.
The person with the reminder is someone who I have great respect for and when he speaks, I generally listen carefully. He explained that he had attended the Arts Commission meeting this past Thursday and was very disturbed at the conduct of many of those in attendance who do not support the Ronald Reagan Statue. By his description of the events, and what I read later in the Daily Pilot, it was a “raucous” meeting. Any time crowd behavior becomes unruly at a public hearing; it is unfortunate and should remind us all, that no matter the extent of our passion for or against an issue, restraint and mutual respect for other’s views should be paramount.
However, that is not the focus of this piece. Nor, am I going to voice my support for the Ronald Reagan Statue. Although I am not sure it should be located in the new Civic Center, I would not be troubled if it were located somewhere in the city of Newport Beach or in one of our parks. There was a quote in the column I read that does trouble me. It was an unusual quote attributed to the person who said it and yet it was overheard by the columnist. The quote was this, "They may be the only 100 people in Newport Beach who don't want it." The person who said it was referring to the attendees at the Arts Commission meeting.
Most of you know that I sit on the Park, Beaches and Recreation Commission. You also know, if you follow civic affairs in Newport Beach, residents are generally quite content with local government and the way the city is run. I am in my eighth year as a Commissioner and I can count the number of times a 100 people or more have attended one of our hearings and I can recall all of the issues involved. It is naïve to think that 100 people in Newport Beach would show up at an Arts Commission meeting to voice their disapproval of the statue if this were not a divisive issue.
As all of us know, every once in awhile a divisive issue arises and our City Council must reach consensus on, often negotiate compromise for, and sometimes reject one side or the other’s position for the “greater good.” After all, that is why we elect leaders. At the end of the day, hopefully all involved, when passions are set aside, can be confident that “greater good” was the driving force behind the decision whichever way it went.
A couple of years ago, there were over 100 people at a PB&R meeting who live near the site for Sunset Ridge Park. They were passionate about their desire not to have that site become an active sports park. In the end, our Commission voted overwhelmingly to recommend to the Council that the site in include a baseball diamond and overlaying soccer field. We did so because we know that the youth in our city is better served if we have adequate sports facilities for them to compete on. Although disappointed in the outcome, most, if not all of those residents, knew in their hearts that there was a “greater good” to be served by the recommendation.
Can we say that there is truly a “greater good” being served here by approving the Ronald Reagan Statue over the objections of so many when we compare it to the Sunset Ridge Park issue? And, that is only one of several that I could have used to make the point. My message here to the Council is to simply move on to more important issues we are facing and we know those are many. It is not about a minority ruling the majority, but rather the importance of the scale of the “greater good” when faced with an issue that can divide residents in our great city.
Reader Comments (1)
Yes, the greater good is teaching people (especially kids) that in a representative democracy, the majority rules after all is said and done, as long as everyone's rights, including minorities rights are protected.
Also the greater good of teaching that when when a minority group tries to scream the loudest to stop a perfectly legitimate process of government from going forward, that should not be tolerated.
Also more importantly that ALL U.S. President deserve to be honored in this country no matter what political party they belong, and that individual personal effort to do so (not costing taxpayers money) should not be discouraged by govt. because it might offend someone with a differing view of who is to be honored.