While Kima Joy Taylor's column "Democracy diminished when so many don't participate" (Opinion
Commentary, Feb. 12) offers concrete ideas to improve voter turnout, I don't believe political participation is just about the vote.
To get behind the reason people don't vote, we have to look at our government structures.
After one votes, what role is there for the voter? All in all, it is a pretty passive one.
You can go to a meeting and complain to the politician who sits up front saying, "OK, OK, I'll fix that."
You can write a letter to a politician - and you will likely get a very general "thank you" letter that leaves you feeling as though your effort was like a tree falling in a forest.
The challenge for our city and nation is to find structures between elections that allow for real participation. This would definitely involve greater community organizing and more community organizers.
And we might also look closely at a practice in Brazil where many cities use "participatory budgeting" - a process in which capital budget decisions are made at the neighborhood level.
Or we might try developing neighborhood assemblies with a real voice and resources (not just enough funds to hold a block party) and thus real power.
We need to find stronger methods for the voters to hold elected officials accountable between elections.
Many communities around the country are searching for ideas to make our democracy real.
They are trying things such as instant-runoff voting, vastly increased public financing of elections, same-day voting registration, community control of media and cooperative ownership of resources such as electricity, gasoline and natural gas.
What processes can we come together to initiate in Baltimore?
Betty Robinson
Baltimore
Officer owes apology to skater and public
A policeman was nice to me once. I was in college in Annapolis and had parked illegally. I caught him in the middle of writing a citation; he agreed that he would cancel the ticket, helped me park and gave me a ride back home.
I will never forget his actions and will always be grateful.
However, more often than not, I've seen policemen act the way Officer Salvatore Rivieri did to that hapless skateboarder ("Skateboarder calls reaction over the top," Feb. 14).
