FAYETTEVILLE — It would be a pretty boring world if nobody had an opinion.
Indeed, everyone does. The folks we refer to as “opinionated” are the ones most vocal about their points of view, but even the meek and mild among us reach conclusions about how they feel.
Last week, as people learned the University of Arkansas picked Pepsi over Coca-Cola as exclusive provider of nonalcoholic drinks at campus locations, they pretty much fell into three camps: Coke, Pepsi or none of the above.
In the institution’s opinion, Pepsi is better than Coke. We can be assured it’s not based on a taste test, but on hard dollars and cents. From my perspective, it’s just encouragement to get a flask so I can sneak in Diet Coke, my soft drink of choice, into the football stadium.
Did I mention Arkansas State University is a Coke school? Between that and Gus Malzahn, the University of Arkansas might just lose a few folks to Northeast Arkansas.
But that’s just one man’s opinion.
People love their own opinions. Some can appreciate other perspectives. Others get upset that anyone else might have the audacity to form an opinion different from their own. That’s why we have talk radio, “The Daily Show” and a zillion pundits arguing on what used to be news channels.
Here in Fayetteville, we usually adore the varied collection of voices that gives our community flavor. Often, it’s not so much the conclusion everyone worries about as much as it is the quality of the discussion that leads to it.
So it is I’m perplexed that an elected official would seek to homogenize Fayetteville on the national stage by proposing a resolution staking out a communal opinion for a matter on which there is, to say the least, no consensus.
Two Fayetteville aldermen, Mark Kinion and Matthew Petty of Ward 2, have given in to political temptation in this election year. They want the eight aldermen of Fayetteville to approve a resolution in support of the “Move to Amend” campaign. Its goal is to amend the U.S. Constitution to reject the Supreme Court’s ruling that corporations have free-speech rights.
Those guys have a right to their opinions. Heck, they have a right to bring forward any resolution they want. They think issuing such group opinions is appropriate, at least in limited circumstance.
I disagree, not so much with the issue of the day, but with the idea the city’s residents elect aldermen to issue opinions in the name of the citizens of Fayetteville.
The process homogenizes the many voices within our community in the interest of advancing the perspective of one segment of the population.
I love people who advocate for what they believe in. Individually, those folks should work to achieve change. But they shouldn’t use the power of representative government to create a false impression of collective thought on issues for which the city has no direct responsibility.
Petty and Kinion oppose corporate personhood. They believe corporations made up of boards of directors and executives shouldn’t have the legal ability to influence politics.
But isn’t that what they’re trying to do? They want the incorporated city of Fayetteville to throw its weight into a political campaign to influence change. They’re trying to wield the power of the organization they help lead to achieve political purposes they individually support.
If it’s not healthy for Exxon and Apple to use their corporate power in the political process, how can they argue the collective power of the City Council, in representing a diverse population, should be manipulated on a national political issue?
Paving streets, keeping good city employees, maintaining strong police and fire, developing a trail system, picking up our trash, operating a great park system. Isn’t that what we elect aldermen to accomplish, more so than using the power of the office they’re elected into to give amplified voice to viewpoints they handpick?
Aldermen have a responsibility to resolve the many community challenges that come up in a growing and diverse city. Why go looking for more issues?
Greg Harton is editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.