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Consensus or division

Editor: Social life has a tendency to establish a balance in all its aspects - economy, politics, culture, tourism, etc. Because of this tendency, there will always be yea-sayers and naysayers in a community.

Editor:

Social life has a tendency to establish a balance in all its aspects - economy, politics, culture, tourism, etc. Because of this tendency, there will always be yea-sayers and naysayers in a community.

If someone takes a stand, it will automatically create an opposition to this stand. Therefore, if someone says yes, someone else will say no, and vice versa. We can't avoid it, but we can accept it.

If you are a simple citizen, and you take a stand, the opposition you create will be equivalent to your stand. If your stand is strong and loud, the equivalent opposition will be strong and loud as well.

However, if you are a prominent business person, a councillor or the mayor of a community, and you take a stand, the opposition you create will be much stronger, simply because of your position in the community.

This is why councillors, and more importantly, the mayor of a community, should be neutral towards any project. By taking a stand, they create division in their community. By remaining neutral, they foster a consensus.

This is also why we shouldn't vote for people who have ideas and political orientations, but rather for wise people. If we vote for business-oriented people, for example, they will create division in the community with their business-oriented decisions. If we vote for wise people, their neutrality will foster consensus in the community. And it's consensus that makes a community economically and socially strong. Divisions and fears destroy a community.

Who should decide then? The citizens. The role of the mayor and councillors is to bring a consensus and apply the decisions taken through this consensus. Their role is to listen then act, not to act then justify.

Marc Theriault, Sechelt