Heartland Visioning revises “harsh” language in the Draft Plan
Today, the Heartland Visioning Steering Committee revised the “Call to Action” section of the Heartland Visioning Draft Plan due to remarks made by some elected officials that the language was too harsh and too negative (see CJOnline Article for further details). I am personally saddened by this move because I feel that it to truly fix a problem; you have to come to terms with the problem itself. It is like an addict admitting they have an addiction, and only then rehabilitation can begin. Yes, the tone in that section was harsh, but that is what is needed in a “Call to Action”. When writing any paper or presentation, you need to make a statement that grabs attention. With a “Call to Action” you must take it a few steps further: you have to convince people that there is a problem, persuade them that you can provide a solution to the problem, and compel them to take action to help solve the problem. If you weaken the language, you loose the ability to persuade and compel.
So why was the language changed? On October 28, The Capital Journal reported that County Commissioner, Vic Miller, was concerned with the language “We are in a downward spiral” and “Our population is growing older” (see CJOnline Article for further details). Commissioner Miller also stated that he was concerned with the statements that “our tax base is shrinking”, “those left are paying more, yet services are decreasing”, and “our quality of life is diminishing” to name a few. I am almost 30 years old. A good majority of the people I went to high school with have relocated to other cities, some stating they will never come back. There are fewer and fewer young people hanging around, as evidenced by the numbers presented in the Draft Plan. I am seeing a trend starting and I don’t understand how Commissioner Miller is able to discount the facts. He just states that he is courting a potential employer for the area and that language like this could turn off this and other potential employers. The potential employers are going to see this language because the Draft Plan was already made public. I would think that a potential employer would be receptive to a city that recognizes that it has some problems and is working to solve them. Not admitting we are struggling to maintain our population, could come back to bite us when a potential employer realizes this and packs it in.
On October 29, in a presentation to the City Council, this same sentence drew more criticism from Mayor Bill Bunten and Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz. I find it hard to believe that this many citizens (many were involved in putting together this Draft Plan) don’t have it right.
We cannot live in denial anymore. My name is Shanae Gooden and I live in Topeka. Topeka is in a downward spiral and will eventually become a retirement community unless we do something. Whew… it feels so good to finally speak the truth. Now that I have vocalized that we have a problem, I can work with others to improve our community so that can grow and prosper.
So why was the language changed? On October 28, The Capital Journal reported that County Commissioner, Vic Miller, was concerned with the language “We are in a downward spiral” and “Our population is growing older” (see CJOnline Article for further details). Commissioner Miller also stated that he was concerned with the statements that “our tax base is shrinking”, “those left are paying more, yet services are decreasing”, and “our quality of life is diminishing” to name a few. I am almost 30 years old. A good majority of the people I went to high school with have relocated to other cities, some stating they will never come back. There are fewer and fewer young people hanging around, as evidenced by the numbers presented in the Draft Plan. I am seeing a trend starting and I don’t understand how Commissioner Miller is able to discount the facts. He just states that he is courting a potential employer for the area and that language like this could turn off this and other potential employers. The potential employers are going to see this language because the Draft Plan was already made public. I would think that a potential employer would be receptive to a city that recognizes that it has some problems and is working to solve them. Not admitting we are struggling to maintain our population, could come back to bite us when a potential employer realizes this and packs it in.
On October 29, in a presentation to the City Council, this same sentence drew more criticism from Mayor Bill Bunten and Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz. I find it hard to believe that this many citizens (many were involved in putting together this Draft Plan) don’t have it right.
We cannot live in denial anymore. My name is Shanae Gooden and I live in Topeka. Topeka is in a downward spiral and will eventually become a retirement community unless we do something. Whew… it feels so good to finally speak the truth. Now that I have vocalized that we have a problem, I can work with others to improve our community so that can grow and prosper.
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