Neighbors

I try to keep this government thing informal. I have a conviction that government is just the community working together, not some third party.

So when I say "neighbors" I'm often referring to "fellow Loudoun County residents." It's an attempt to distance myself from the pedestal. Someone commented on a blog yesterday that perhaps the joint committee of the School Board & Board of Supervisors should include, in addition to the EDC representative, a "citizen representative." This strikes me as odd because we (School Board members and Supervisors alike) are the citizen representatives. None of us were appointed by a divine being, few of us have any affluence or professional expertise to speak of. Some of us are living paycheck to paycheck. I often describe myself as "just a dad who goes to a lot of meetings." This helps me to keep things in perspective.

When talking about how the schools should be run I am at my best when I'm just talking to a neighbor at the fencepost. So when I speak of "neighbors" I'm reminding myself and the people around me that everyone who lives in Loudoun is my neighbor, and I am their neighbor, and that shapes my vision of what I'm supposed to do as a School Board member.