Thomas Jefferson, our third President, said it best, “Information is the currency of democracy.” Way back in the 1800’s, he wasn’t speaking of the information highway, he was speaking of an informed electorate. He definitely knew what he was talking about, it’s so important to be connected these days.
Walk into any area where people congregate, malls, airports and the like, and you’ll see that 95 percent of people are glued to their smartphones – whether it’s newsfeed or social media – people are watching and paying attention. You hope that they are paying attention to the right kind of information, but who knows?
The need of today’s public to stay constantly connected seems to run afoul of the dismal turnout that happens in Pinecrest elections, which is sadly reflective of the weak response to voting throughout the entire U.S. Only 68 percent of people nationwide voted in the last Presidential election. Really?
When I read that statistic in U.S. News and World Report, I was shocked. It’s the highest office in the land and less than three-quarters of our nation cared to leave their house to vote. It made me curious enough to look at Pinecrest’s statistics. We fared a bit better – 82 percent voted in the 2016 mayor’s election and for the U.S. President. Still, though, it made me wonder, what’s up with folks?
I believe the reason people don’t come out to vote is either because they are content; or they are apathetic because they believe their opinion doesn’t make a difference. I doubt that people are just too content. I mean, just spend 10 minutes on social media and scroll through comments – where they jump to rage in a Pinecrest minute.
So it must be more about feeling your opinion doesn’t matter. And this I can fully understand. Pinecrest’s elected officials do a dismal job of personally reaching out to the public to let their constituents know they care to hear from them. We need to have more town hall meetings. We need to reach out and seek input from all, not just a select few who respond to councilmembers’ “coffee-talk” style invitations on their individual Facebooks.
All members of the council should listen closely to the same source – not just hang out with their little coffee klatch cliques. Sorry to be so blunt, but honestly, I realized when I was running for office in 2016, knocking on doors and wearing out shoe leather, that people truly believe they aren’t being heard. We get a personal visit from an elected official once during the election cycle, but only if we are on the county’s list of frequent voters. Why isn’t canvassing being done all throughout an elected official’s term? Canvass means, “to examine in detail” and “to discuss and debate,” so why wouldn’t we do this all year long? I would!
The bottom line is – we, as constituents, have a responsibility to make sure our elected officials are representing us well – both fiscally and morally. More importantly, the elected officials need to ensure that they are engaging the public. We “hired” them, so they work for us. Why aren’t they reporting to their “bosses” on a regular basis?
I have an easy fix for this: wear out some shoe leather! Go visit the people. Grab a bottle of water, put on a hat and some sunscreen, and open your ears and eyes to the real-time concerns and questions that the people of Pinecrest have. We deserve it.
James Field Jr. grew up in Pinecrest and is committed to keeping in touch with the people of this community. After graduating from the University of Miami, he traveled the world as a professional golfer before taking a different course – developing his business acumen and engaging in philanthropy. Field subsequently became the director of business development for one of the largest agriculture companies in the country and simultaneously founded a supply-chain management company that provides services to various emerging restaurant brands.
