George,

I found Thursday's article in the Daily Progress about concern by some members of the business community over the massive Democratic Party victory in the City Council elections to be premature and unnecessarily polarizing. It is incorrect to suggest that business interests in town can only find a home in a conservative or Republican agenda. As a downtown business owner and an active supporter of the Democratic ticket, I would assert that many business people in town supported this ticket with money, energy and time.

I am reminded of the now legendary moment, in the mid 1990's, during the deliberations of the President's Council for Sustainable Development, when leaders of industry and leaders of environmental groups sat deadlocked over the question of whether there could be such a thing as "sustainable growth". Their impasse was broken when they received a letter that asked the central question: "Isn't it a matter of what you want to grow and what you don't want to grow?"

Let's ask ourselves that question.

Do we want to grow literacy or illiteracy?

Do we want to grow health or sickness?

Do we want to grow universal prosperity or poverty?

Do we want to grow an equitable society or one characterized by injustice?

Do we want to grow economic opportunities for all our people, or do we want to grow a society polarized by extremes of advantage and disadvantage?

Do we want to grow respect and appreciation for our cultural heritage or do we want to grow disregard for heritage and memory?

I would suggest that the answers of most responsible people in this community would be in rather universal alignment. From that position of presumed consensus, let's move forward to determine how to best achieve our goals and leave behind polarizing rhetoric.

The issue is not business vs. anti-business, growth vs. no-growth, or development vs. anti-development. The issue is how to incrementally build on our strengths and grow the kind of community that we know we have the potential to grow.

Thanks,

Russell Perry (electronic mail, May 8, 2000).