Gray Agora Rules of Order

In order to facilitate healthy and productive exchanges, the following rules of order shall be observed at all times:

1. This forum shall welcome passionate, thoughtful, and intelligent debate about ISSUES of concern to the citizens of Gray. This is a growing town experiencing profound changes in its social, political, and economic constitution. There is adequate fodder for debate in discussing how to manage and respond to the ramifications of these changes.

2. It is requested that all posts be assigned a screen name to better facilitate debate and free exchange between contributors. Translation: To blog you have to use any name other than anonymous...You don't have to give your real name, a made-up name will do. Those failing to abide by Rule 2, Bluto here shall assign you an appropriate name. If you don't wish to be called "Flounder", I suggest you get creative.

3. Decorum in responses shall always be observed. Read Emily Post if you fail to grasp this concept.

4. To misquote the Savior: Newspaper wars shall always be with you. Our concern here are the issues not the flaws or antics of newspaper editors (excepting the NY Times).

5. Posts impugning individual's character (or that of their mother), personal attacks, or any reference to "hate-blogs", "liar", or farm animals shall be burned to the ground, plowed under, and seeded with salt.


With that, let the games begin!

Welcome to A Gray Agora

In ancient Greece, the Agora was the Athenian marketplace and political epicenter where any free citizen could address the assembled crowd on any issue of public concern.

Of course Socrates discovered that free speech turned out to be a relative concept. Socrates had to curb his tongue, but at least the Athenian elders did buy him lunch and a hemlock cocktail to assuage his outrage.

The Greek experiment with free and public discourse lasted a short time before the Athenian man-in-the-street concluded that democracy was an exhausting proposition requiring much too much diligence and vigilance. And so Athenians hired kings to do their thinking for them and the rest is (as they say) ...history.Here in America, we have fared a little better with this democracy thing. Our machination is called a republic in which we hire journeyman kings to do our thinking for us. Every 2-6 years we perform a cursory job review of our surrogates and conclude whether or to extend their contracts. Occasionally, we get whipped up into that old mob mentality, and we capriciously execute our charges ...

Often just because we can. Viva la Republic!

If democracy still exists anywhere in the world is in the small local community where what one individual says is still heard and can still can make a difference. Of late in Gray, both the politics and the personalities have eclipsed the issues. The current discourse in the papers and the blogs may fill a void vacated by the cancellation of Jerry Spinger, but the net damage is the alienation of all the John Q.'s in Gray who have something worthy to say.

We need more and better voices.

A Gray Agora is the forum for such voices.