For some time I have wanted to write a few words about representative government. It is, at its best, like our nation, a varied feast. Government is a culture of cultures. It gains its wisdom through the variety of perspectives that it bears. It gains from inclusiveness and by no individual or group should total domination reside.

Our government should at best look like our hometowns, our states, and our nation as a whole. It should be made up of all races, genders and sexual orientations. It should bear blue and white collars, educators, entrepreneurs, artisans and engineers, atheists and evangelicals, the young and the old. It should be alive with variety and wisdom of a broad range of perspectives, ideas, ideologies and interests. We have seen when countries have been ruled by narrow interests and specific groups of people based on blood lines, skin color, religion or wealth and it has never been good. When power is not shared our equilibrium and strength is diminished.

There is often the feeling that certain sectors bear greater understandings. Many feel government should be treated as a business. Unlike business however government is an entity of and for the people. While it can gain from the insights of other cultures, such as those of business, it is not one and as such, cannot be run in the same manor.

Government cannot exist solely of, nor entirely without, the perspectives of business, any more than our bodies can be sustained by ingesting only potatoes. While potassium and starch is important to a balanced diet it is, in and of itself, far from a complete diet. Government has a bottom line that is unique amongst entities. It is to responsibly secure for its citizens an ability to be safe; ensure for the common justice and allow for its citizens an ability to thrive. I know of no business that would put that as its bottom line.

Governments, and hence nations, are diminished when ideologies, cultural groups, social sectors and economic interests have dominated. At its worst we have seen in history racial domination of the Nazis, industrial domination of fascism, religious intolerance and persecution, and in our own history a sense of domination and entitlement that has forced Africans into slavery and American Indians to the brink of annihilation. While these are extreme cases they are the product of conformity and exclusion from our political process.

Narrow political domination may give the perception of strength but it is truly a feeble foundation. The foundation of our democratic government is made strong by varied perspectives. We need the perspective of the parent and grandparent valuing the needs of generations to come. We need teachers for an understanding of the intrinsic necessity of knowledge. We need the mathematicians logic, the philosophers careful consideration and the ministers robust faith. We need the wisdom of those that have worked with their hands and understand the wonders of the physical world. We need visionaries and synthesizers that can see the world beyond what it is and into what it can be.

As government should encourage and value the equilibrium of diversity those in it must understand how to find common conclusions through compromise. This does not mean one loses ones values or ideas are diminished. However, when we fail in our ability to achieve objectives through compromise it is often, feelings of self-victimization, bitterness and division that are left, and little if anything, is achieved. This does not mean that one does not set aside their principles but that they carry those principles, ideas and understandings to the table for a vigorous yet collegial debate and when necessary personal decisions are made as to where to draw a line. Hopefully, however the table of governance is a full feast of carrots, peas, meat and potatoes, tofu, rice, fruit, plenty of good spice and even a few nuts.

Michael Shaughnessy is a citizen of Windham. He enjoys a well rounded diet, and would like to hear what you have to serve up at michaeljshaughnessy@verizon.net