We Are Butler County: Respecting, accepting our neighbors creates a vibrant, successful community
On July 13, the divide that had silently been poisoning our country painfully surfaced with the crack of a lone gunman’s rifle.
The Butler Eagle reported how the first few gunshots rang out like fireworks, but when they continued, the crowd at the Butler Farm Show venue dropped to the ground. A mother and a father told their children to crouch down. A young man hunched over in the grass. Behind him, a woman started to pray.
Butler County experienced a traumatic event which violently exacerbated political differences between residents within our community. The mass shooting, death of a county resident and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally here brought the world's attention. It also brought a swell of damaging political rhetoric with a national focus and hate speech that pushed civility and tolerance aside.
We wondered: If citizens of different political parties or beliefs see each other as enemies, how can they work together to tackle the well-being and future of Butler County?
It's time to learn more about our neighbors.
“Progress 2024: We Are Butler County” is the first step in a project we’re calling “Civics and Civility,” which aims to bridge this rip in our traumatized county, explain the workings of government and promote healing in our home.
In the coming year, the Butler Eagle will host community conversations on shared values and continue to get to know our neighbors by encouraging citizens from different walks of life and different sections of the county to share their stories.
We hope to help strengthen democracy by presenting tutorials on civics to outline how government works; sharing with students the importance of community journalism and knowing the source of news; and bringing back civil political debate.
Listening sessions conducted by the Eagle earlier in the year revealed that a growing number of citizens were uncomfortable speaking up; others felt unsafe. The lack of knowledge about how government works also contributed to misunderstandings and misinformation.
Working to understand each others’ challenges and respecting each others' choices are important steps toward a successful community where all residents feel safe and welcome.
Over this span, we hope you’ll listen with us and meet your neighbors. We don’t expect — nor want — everyone in the county to agree. Rather, we hope our community members can be more tolerant of one another’s opinions.
For this edition, the county is divided into five zones. U.S. census data shows, in each municipality, how many people live there, how many own a home or rent, how big their households are. It also notes what people do for a living and what the average salary is. We also learn how many of our neighbors are living in poverty.
The Butler Eagle, the community's local news source for over 150 years, believes that to grow and prosper as a county, residents need to reaffirm common goals, discover shared experiences and values, and be open to different opinions. Administering the programs that are critical to the care of our most vulnerable populations and working to solve pressing community problems like poverty or lack of broadband in rural areas needs the cooperation, ingenuity and support of all our residents.
So let’s meet our neighbors and listen to each other. Together, we can bridge the divide in our county.
Donna Sybert is the managing editor for the Butler Eagle.
