Not fare well, / But fare forward, voyagers.   T.S. Eliot

As regular readers of this column well know, I am a democracy junkie. My passion is the transformation of an ancient Greek philosophy to a living process. My views on politics are greatly influenced by theorists of earlier times who recorded their observations and thoughts on the struggle to create a functioning democracy. The work of writers and philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) and his contemporary Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) continues to have relevance. Their questions remain challenges for us today: Is our government the best form of democracy we can achieve? Must we limit the power of government to safeguard the rights of citizens? How can we balance responsibility and accountability for politician and citizen? My career as municipal administrator presented me with unique opportunities to probe the boundaries of the law and research democratic practices in other jurisdictions in my attempts to stretch the limits of tradition and experience and find new applications for the principles and philosophy of democracy.