In today’s world, with social media firestorms, a widening partisan divide and a worrying breakdown in civility infecting some of the populace (thankfully not too much here), who would want to be so involved as to be vulnerable? Who would want to stand up or sit down before people, many of whom will disagree with what you have to say, and say it -- with no protection of a screen and anonymity? 

It’s because, as Commissioner Lee Livingston said it well at a recent meeting, “you can’t gripe if you’re not involved.”

That’s how it should be, at least, whether being involved means serving on a board, or even just speaking in front of a crowd at a meeting. 

In truth, most of the time I consider that I have the easy job, such as last week in Cody during a nearly six-hour meeting on the proposed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple in Cody. Yes, I was sitting there typing away, having to move my legs around to keep them from falling asleep. But I was there to report as dispassionately as I could, not to put my opinions out there or leave my hopes on the line. 

So I tip my hat to those of you who did speak, no matter the side, because it takes guts when you know there’s probably 100 or more people looking right at you who are opposed to your view of the situation. 

And I appreciate the board members who stood above the crowd on the stage and had to make votes one side or the other, votes bound to make a bunch of people in the audience groan. 

Now, if you ask my wife, you’ll know I always try to be the peacemaker, try to see both sides and keep the friction to a minimum. However, oftentimes people have strong disagreements. If so, where better to air them than in front of people instead of behind a screen?

I appreciate those willing to stand up and say something unpopular, or to make a point with civility while surrounded by people with whom you passionately disagree. 

At the risk of critiquing my own profession to some degree, I leave you with this quote from Theodore Roosevelt (frequent readers may see a trend and be able to guess my favorite president):

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”