by Charles H. Crawford
As Kentucky 2000 draws closer and our members fill out their registration forms, book trains and planes and make plans for reunions with friends and involvement in a myriad of affiliate- sponsored activities, we look forward to an event which speaks eloquently of democratic principles translated into actions and policies which will guide our organizational decision-making and advocacy for the coming years. We can tell already that Kentucky 2000 will attract an even larger than usual percentage of our members, and so we anticipate a higher caliber of decision-making because of this broadened participation. Convention attendance and active participation by our membership are especially important in an organization that looks to the convention and our resolutions as guides to our actions. What better place to look than where our people gather to discuss the status of our community and make judgments about what issues we should articulate and engage? For all that we do to insure democratic decision making, is there something missing? If so, then what is it, and how can we deal with the challenge?
Despite the fact that our members are well-represented by affiliates at the convention, there are inherent flaws in our particular representative democracy that we must address creatively. One problem may be that the issues which make their way into the language of resolutions may not always be a mirror image of the specific issues with which state affiliates have concerned themselves during the last year. This situation may leave affiliates struggling to try and figure out what the people back home would think.
We cannot ignore the fact that many folks do not attend the convention because they simply cannot afford to go. Can our members who are not able to be present when decisions are voted upon really achieve a feeling of ownership with regard to these decisions if they have been unable to speak their minds or cast their votes?
Fortunately, there are at least three ways in which ACB can increase the participation of folks who cannot attend the convention. First, we can all set aside time at chapter meetings and state conventions to discuss the resolutions which we want to present to the national forum for discussion and adoption. Further, individual members of ACB have the constitutionally mandated ability to write and submit proposed resolutions to the resolutions committee chair. Finally, we can all make use of the Internet to promote ideas and achieve consensus in advance of the introduction of ideas as resolutions.
All of us in ACB are, therefore, challenged to make sure that we nurture and come to rely upon all the ways our members can impact the democratic process of decision-making beyond the confines of the national convention. We must share information with leaders in chapters and state affiliates so that they will be empowered to discuss issues with their members in meaningful ways and help average members to judge their individual input essential to the overall decision-making process. We must inform and remind all our members about the ways their ideas for resolutions can be presented to the resolutions committee. We must make our Internet resources easy for our members to use to discuss topics and weigh alternatives. These are critical steps which we must all take to ensure that every ACB voice can be heard.
The essence of ACB democracy is our mutual respect for one another, and our shared appreciation for the processes which allow us to really hear one another and be heard. Our conversations with one another are the seeds which grow to become the national policy of ACB.
Let us be sure to continue to grow our democracy as we grow ourselves. Let us use our meetings and our communications tools to advance our community and let us show the world what one organization can do when it hears the voices of its members, harmonizes its ideas and creates a symphony that is the expression of its people.