Someone visited The Selma Times-Journal the other day and suggested everyone — rich, poor, black, white, hispanic, Christian and non-Christian — join together and raise up Selma.

This is a good idea.

During the last few months our Queen City has taken some hits from inside with people who are dissatisfied with the status quo. And in every dissent there is a modicum of truth.

But there is criticism and constructive criticism. The most recent conflict at the Selma City Council was destructive, and did not lend itself to building up the city; making it stronger through rational discussion and action planning. Instead, this was an emotional outburst serving no purpose but to create hard feelings and an atmosphere of anger.

It seems to me here in Selma we are one. We are community. We live adjacent to one another; eat at tables in restaurants near one another; go to schools; go to work and sleep under the protection of the same laws.

As one, corporate, we are like a mother to Selma. We nurture this city by shopping here and locating businesses here. We elect people we believe will hold our best interests at heart, and if we disagree with the person elected in that position, we bide our time and work for another person. This is how we work together to sustain Selma. We are one with Selma.

Then comes the anger of some, which is evidenced at the city council meetings.

Can you imagine a mother getting angry with her child and hitting that child when it cries? Of course not. That would be child abuse.

Then, we should think of Selma as our child, corporately. Instead of hitting the child in anger, we should calmly and rationally make our issues known. This is an opportunity for teaching and, as Mayor George Evans says, building bridges.

It seems to me we should come to a table, similar to the one created Thursday night as a town hall meeting, and lay our grievances at the foot of our government; then walk away understanding the public servants we elected will address them.

And, if our government does not respond to us, we should come again to the proper forum and, without anger, hold our government officials accountable for their inaction or, what might be in our view, wrongful action.

This kind of calm, rational behavior on the part of Selma’s citizens nourishes rather than

discourages action.

If we approach our government in such a way, then we have a greater understanding of the issues at hand and of the individuals involved in those issues. Selma suffers, because there is conflict, but the city does not suffer as it has in recent weeks with people becoming dejected because of the inability of government to continue at council meetings when people rise up and are out of order.

Selma is a good place in which to work and live. We need to nurture that by corporately joining and raising up our city and calmly working together to make it better.

Leesha Faulkner is editor of The Selma Times-Journal. She may be reached at 410-1730 or by e-mail at leesha.faulkner@selmatimesjournal.com