BRACK: Without good people involved, bad government will erupt

The old DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur, Ga.

For the most part, except for some recent exceptions, Gwinnett County governments pretty well do that. Yes, there are from time-to-time some headlines that make the county citizens unhappy, and yes, there are some frictions in one or two municipal governments.

Unfortunately, many citizens don’t involve themselves much with government. Most governments chug along trying to do a good job, and staying our of the headlines when it comes to shenanigans.

Not so in neighboring DeKalb County. This once-progressive county has been hit by first one scandal after another in recent years.

There was the shooting of a sheriff that indicated there was more going on than met the eye.

Then a DeKalb CEO had some issues, and left office. His successor got into trouble, was tried, had a hung jury, and still may be tried again for conduct unbecoming an officer.

Another commissioner is indicted for dipping into government funds for her own good. She was tried, convicted, and now faces time in prison.

And last week the interim CEO of DeKalb government, was found in another questionable activity, giving DeKalb citizens another possible black eye.

These reports, and a government that seemed out of control, may be the reason people in DeKalb are considering forming new cities, or have already done so.

How could all this happen?

The short answer is that DeKalb voters have elected a bunch of reprobates, people who should not have ascended the high elective office. They seem to feed off one another, creating situation where most people could recognize that something untoward was going on. These officials were gaining more power, appeared to be rewarding their supporters with county contracts, or were involved with under-the-table activities. Perhaps some of them got jealous, and ratted on their fellow elected officials.

At any rate, what was going on wrongly and quietly eventually got the attention of both the public, and some key investigators, resulting in announcements that have come to embarrass many of the citizens of DeKalb County. You wonder why it took so long. But eventually, the news squirts out.

How do the citizens of an area put a stop to these questionable and illegal activities?

Diligence: the citizens must take enough interest in their governments to be alert to what is going on. They must keep an open mind, of course, but raise a noise when they see matters that do not make sense. We’re not talking merely of the citizens of DeKalb, or Atlanta school teachers, or any particular government. We’re talking about such activities of any area. No matter where you are, the responsibility for a government going south must rest with the citizens of that area. After all, they elected these scalawags to office.

All this will produce a climate where good citizens are unwilling to jump into the fray, not wanting to sully themselves with associating with the government. Until some good citizen will take this plunge, bad government will continue.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King put it this way: “Government, in the last analysis, is organized opinion. Where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government.”

We are embarrassed at what is happening in DeKalb. But without alert and involved citizens, it can happen anywhere. We reminded of the person who said, “When bad government arrives….it stays and stays and stays!”