The Rocky Mount Concerned Citizens Facebook Page

But first, a Stepheny story:

A few years back, driven beyond my patience, I abruptly stood at a City Council meeting and called out, “Point of order…. Mr. Blackwell can go on and on while the citizens only have three minutes to speak.”

The mayor informed me, nicely, “There is no point of order for the Council.”

Councilman Blackwell replied, “You can’t tell me how long I can speak, I will speak as long as I wish.”

Stepheny said, “That’s my point,” and sat down. The meeting went on.

Today I have some other points I want to make.

I’m not sure when I first began reading the Concerned Citizens page. Most everyone who leaves comments are my compatriots in concern for Rocky Mount leadership, for doing business correctly, for questioning what feels like a system that is not always working as it should.

The comments often extend my own thinking. They bring new information, they add perspective, they reflect how citizens are reacting.

But I must raise an objection to those who have let swearing become their first language.

I think of Charles Krauthammer and one of his most delightful turns of phrase, half playful, half precise.

It comes from his collection in his book, Things That Matter, where he reflects on the wide range of subjects that make life rich, from the profound to the slightly mischievous. It is a great read.

He writes, “What matters? Lives of the good and the great… fashions and follies and the finer uses of the F-word.”

Krauthammer had a gift for elevating even a vulgarity into something almost literary, not to celebrate coarseness, but to remind us that language, in the right hands and at the right moment, carries force, economy, and, occasionally, truth.

Words matter, and how we use them matters even more.

I am acknowledging that this Facebook page fills a place that is needed, beyond a three minute opportunity. People read it, they learn from it, they leave thoughts that are worth considering.

But let us leave language that is not the finer use of the F-word unwritten, so that what is said is not dismissed, or worse, ignored.

Rocky Mount Concerned Citizens is one of the places where the long conversation we are having can continue.

Perhaps if we are careful with our words, it can also become a page where we are not only heard, but taken seriously.

My comment for today is simple.

Thank you for making room for the citizens of Rocky Mount to meet, and put our thoughts together while we try them out on one another. It’s a valuable resource when treated as such, that I will continue to use.