At a recent Carroll County Quorum Court meeting, JP Jack Deaton stated that the Court is reluctant to accept offers of help from citizens because previous offers had “caused us more problems.” He also remarked, “This is not California. This is not Texas. This is not Kansas. This is Arkansas.”
Those comments should concern every citizen—not because of politics, but because they raise a fundamental question about representative government.
Many people who now call Carroll County home previously lived in another state. They chose Arkansas. They pay taxes, own businesses, volunteer in our communities, serve on nonprofit boards, support our fire departments, teach our children, and vote. They are no less constituents than those whose families have lived here for generations.
Every Justice of the Peace represents every constituent in the district. The value of a citizen’s ideas should never depend on where that person once lived, but on the merit of the idea itself.
Arkansas’s official motto is Regnat Populus — “The People Rule.” It does not say, “Some of the people rule.” It speaks to all of us.
Representative government depends upon informed citizen participation. If we become discouraged and stay home, we surrender one of the most important responsibilities of citizenship. Attend Quorum Court meetings. Read the agendas. Ask respectful questions. Offer your experience and expertise. Hold your elected officials accountable—but also expect them to listen with the same respect they ask of the public.
Public trust is earned when citizens know their voices are heard, their ideas are fairly considered, and every constituent is treated with dignity and respect.
This is Arkansas. Let’s make sure our government reflects the principles our state motto proclaims: Regnat Populus — The People Rule.
Dianna G. Baird