It was refreshing to be a part of the 2007 Session of the New York State Grange in relation to the refinement, debate, and final adoption and/or rejection of resolutions submitted from Community and County Granges across the state enlisting support or opposition of the state body on issues deemed important. Many of the issues addressed are those that have been reported by various media outlets over the past year, and in some cases sparked extreme polarization, unfortunate statements, and massive amounts of negative fallout. Social issues seem to be particularly vulnerable to high emotion as most tend to inject there personally held moral values into the argument, leaving no "moral room" for any other position than theirs.
The delegates at the session came from all walks of life -- production agriculture, education, law enforcement, military, health service providers, service industry, contractors, transportation, government employees, labor (union and non union), retired from of the above categories, and housewives. If there was ever a formula for polarization of positions because of conflicting interests, this would be it. About the only common ground here would be that we were all Grangers and taxpayers. While the debate was sometimes spirited, with "amendments to amendments" being offered to make specific points, at the end of the day when the voting was done all continued to be on friendly terms. Personal attacks were never part of the process. Differing viewpoints were accepted as differing viewpoints, as opposed to calling into question the character of the individual expressing the same.
To this writer one of the tragedies of the day is the inability to debate major cultural and social issues in the public square on the basis of the issue alone. Many times those raising concerns are given uncomplimentary labels, which effectively ends the discussion. This reminds me of the old saying: There are two sides to an argument, mine and the wrong one. Human nature being what it is always calls into question the abilities of the individual holding a differing opinion, however it now seems that labeling instead of reasoning is the trump card.
Taking the position that no one has ever become upset with the direction of a policy issue discussion in the Grange would be inaccurate. It is rare however, and I for one am thankful for the opportunity to participate in an environment that encourages discussion and debate of issues that affect all of us -- one in which personal attacks and labeling are not part of the process.
Elsewhere on this site is a brief listing of the positions taken at the Session, of which the State Grange will take an active role with legislative bodies and/or regulatory agencies to implement. All of these positions originated in local granges. We encourage discussion and action on issues. That is one of the reasons we exist as an organization. More participation in this area results in greater effectiveness. Consider joining us in this effort. Your ideas are important to us.
Al Fine
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