The Rockford pledge needs reworking

The Rascal is all for local boosterism, but the online "Postively Rockford pledge" is nothing I would sign, mainly for two reasons.

The pledge, which is available at www.nextgenerationconsulting.com/rockford reads as follows:

"By entering your name below, you commit to being POSITIVE about ROCKFORD. This means responding positively when people ‘go negative’ on Rockford in meetings, in the press, and in the community. It also means looking at your community through the lens of hope, not despair. Encouraging our children, our leaders and our neighbors to think bigger and more optimistically about Rockford’s future. It means catching people doing things right, rather than complaining when they mess up. Go on, be POSITIVELY ROCKFORD.”

Most of that is fine, especially the parts about hope, rather than despair, and about encouraging optimism with respect to the community's future. But the part about responding positively when some folks, including the media, go negative gives me pause. So does the part about "catching people doing things right, rather than complaining when they mess up."

That last part, no matter how you parse it, is an admonition to not complain when local government or other institutions screw up. Well, include me out on that one -- and on the one that encourages casual dismissal of problems cited in the media.

Look, it's a great idea to encourage area residents to take notice of and promote the community's good points. Nor am I blind to the need for Rockford's incessant detractors to rethink their negativism (an issue addressed in this post by The Rascal). But let's not get carried away. Let's not promote a local version of the mindset among some Americans that complaints about the federal government and its current military misadventure are unpatriotic.

Frankly, this Rockford pledge smacks of a loyalty oath, one of the repugnancies of the McCarthy era.

Therefore, The Rascal offers his own pledge:

"I promise to promote Rockford's good points and defend the community against unfair criticism, whether from within or without. But this pledge should not be construed as a vow of silence in the face of local corruption, mismanagement or injustices."

Amen.