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I attended a hearing of an appointed State committee, charged by the Governor to develop a plan to reduce duplication of services to individuals with disabilities. The hearing was at the Kansas State House. I arrived early, picked up a copy of the meeting agenda, and took a close-in seat with a good view. I intended to listen to testimony that would affect services, particularly for many Kansans with developmental disabilities.
While waiting for the hearing to start, I occupied my time reading the name plates of the committee members--largely, state senators and representatives with a smattering of current and former state bureaucrats. A very familiar question popped into my head, namely, Who are these people and what qualifies them to make these decisions? I started going down the list of names, using my PDA to Google names and find out about these decision makers.
Ordinarily, I would have completed the task and formed an opinion of the individuals on the committee. This time I stopped. I realized that, ultimately, the qualifications of the individuals do not really matter, because this is democracy at work. Democracy means that we trust that when a group of citizens of the democracy get together to make a decision, that they will listen to different points of view, putting their personal points of view on hold for the time being to reach the best decision possible. It is not necessary that the most knowledgeable people are making the decision in a democracy, rather it matters that they get the most accurate information available and do not become absorbed by their personal prejudices.
Yesterday, while watching a documentary on the Kansas School Board's decision some years ago to teach alternative "theories" along with evolution, I was reminded of my discovery at the hearing. In this instance, elected school board members rather listened to experts and then made a decision. (I did not agree with the decision; the members who voted in favor of the decision lost their elections and the decision was ultimately reversed.) Democracy worked.
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