Opinion: Listening does not mean surrendering your values

By JAMES T. GRAHAM |
THE core idea is plain, but it carries weight. Believe what you believe, say it clearly, but listen like you might be wrong. Not because you are weak or unsure, but because you’re human. None of us sees the whole picture and we are better off when we admit that. Listening does not mean surrendering your values. It means leaving the door open to understanding which is the only way communities stay healthy.

In a time when people feel pushed to pick a side before they have even had a chance to think, this approach offers a way back to something calmer and more grounded. It reminds us that local government works best when we show up as neighbours first and voters second. Curious, steady and willing to hear each other out.

In Tasmania where council elections voting is compulsory, most people approach the ballot paper ready to vote for a particular ticket. It is almost automatic like you are expected to plant your flag before you have even had a proper think. That pressure can shrink our politics down to two boxes. For or against, left or right, good or bad.
Once we are in those boxes, it is hard to hear anything outside them.

You can disagree without turning someone into an enemy. You can hold your view without needing to crush someone else’s. That is the kind of political culture regional communities thrive on. Slower, steadier, more human.
Local government is the level closest to our homes, our streets, our children and our rates. It should be the place where a message like these lands the strongest.

It is the part of government we bump into in real life. Things like footpaths, planning, parks, waste and the way we treat each other in public spaces. This is where real conversations happen, face to face, without the safety of a screen or the drama of a headline.

James T. Graham is a columnist with New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News, a community radio broascaster and a former elected member of the Derwent Valley Council.

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