The first news story that crossed my radar this morning was about the French government collapsing (again). Then came news of the Norwegian government trying to sort itself out post-collapse.
It’s going around. In recent months, governments in the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, and several other countries have also collapsed. And, as you may have read somewhere, the United States has had a bit of national controversy lately, too.
It’s a tough time for national politics. But, here at the local level —where people actually talk to their representatives — democracy is working just fine.
Last night I attended a “Community Conversation” on the county budget hosted by Montgomery County (MD) Executive Marc Elrich. He’s holding a dozen of these sessions, including several in other languages and aimed at various ethnic communities. He does it twice a year: one round for the capital budget, another for the operating budget.
And, he wasn’t the only official in attendance. Maryland State Delegates Marc Korman and Teresa Woorman were in the audience, listening closely — Bethesda residents are their constituents, too.
As Elrich ran through his slides and fielded dozens of questions — about rec centers, homeless shelters, transportation, funding for the Maryland Israel Development Corporation, and more — I thought:
This is how democracy is supposed to work: Citizens face-to-face with their elected representatives, speaking their minds.
Did anything get solved? Maybe. If not, there are more meetings coming up next week.
-Woody Allen famously said that 80 percent of success is “just showing up.” Turns out that’s true for democracy, too.