We have covered some controversial local issues here at The Ojai Post – from Jersey Mike’s, Mallory Way and O-Hi Frostie to the ballot initiatives and the Candidates Forum. And what makes us different from the Ojai Valley News or the Voice or City Council meetings or just about any other traditional media outlet is the immediacy and involvement of the greater Ojai community. There is no-one hand-picking letters to the editor, or selecting questions for the candidates or dictating three minute windows of expression.
With that openness and transparency of dialogue comes a multitude of opinions, suggestions and soap-box diatribes. Some of the comments are constructive, others argumentative. And I welcome all of that in the name of democracy and freedom of speech.
I encourage this rapidly growing Ojai Post community to participate with vigor and enthusiasm, to debate the issues, to have a voice that will contribute to an Ojai we can all be proud of today, tomorrow and ten years from now. But I would temper that with ensuring that your comments address individuals in this town with respect and civility. It is one thing to disagree on policy and issues, as Dennis Leary says, and quite another to sling some mud and make it personal.
I personally know people on all sides of these issues, and so do most of you. Council members, political activists, candidates, business advocates, Ojai Post authors – these are good people with whom we can have civil discourse, given an equal forum where participation isn’t based on an inherent power structure. And in an ideal world, The Ojai Post provides that egalitarian platform where the Mayor and a Council candidate and an attorney and a business owner and a mom can all meet to learn more about Ojai’s issues and come up with solutions through an engaged dialogue.
Media – how it is produced and how it is consumed – is changing rapidly. To many, The Ojai Post feels foreign, an intruder, an unwelcome voice disrupting the status quo. To others, it is a breath of fresh air, or simply a place to vent. Ultimately, we are bringing grassroots dialogue to issues about which people would otherwise feel disenfranched or simply unaware. Make no mistake, we are changing the landscape of Ojai politics and media, and certain people will be upset. But if we remember that the people with whom and about whom we are discussing are also our neighbors, our friends, our relatives and our local merchants, then we can conduct ourselves with civility and respect on the path to visioning the Ojai in which we all want to live.