The national election and the financial market crisis have focused our attention on the political process and the importance of our vote as never before. It is a good development that more of us than ever feel we have a personal stake in government, law and policies.

As we see the impacts of our representatives’ decisions personally affecting us, passions rise, words become intemperate and compromise – let alone consensus – becomes harder to achieve.

The Orcas West council position will be the focus of the Candidates’ Forum this Friday at 5 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall. Richard Fralick and Mindy Kayl both served as Freeholders in the formation of the county’s charter government; they agree that balancing the budget is the number one issue for the council to address.

Beyond that, there are matters of opinion and style that will determine their effectiveness in serving their constituents. As we determine our vote, we should honor their points of agreement and the expression of their opinions, even as we follow intently their divergent views on priorities and policies.

Likewise, on Oct. 11, when the League of Women Voters sponsors candidates’ debates on Orcas Island and Friday Harbor, we should tune in to educate ourselves as to how these and other candidates on the ballot plan to represent us – especially those of us who have our minds made up. And furthermore, we might even hear something that is the determining factor in our vote.

Keeping an open mind, hearing out differing viewpoints with respect and countering them from another perspective, is the only way we can work toward a common goal. It is a creative process, and it is not always smooth and steady. Even our founding fathers, whose heated debates created a form of government that has been the world model for over 200 years, lurched and retreated as they cobbled together our Constitution, which has been amended by those who would better it, on an average of once every ten years.

Which leads back to the tensions and passions of immediate circumstances inflaming our island.

It is shameful that a community that prides itself on its intelligence, its common sense, and its concern for each other is also the community where political signs are vandalized and stolen.

We wonder too, what kind of opinions those who would do such “victimless” crimes are listening to? Is it commentary that assumes we share common interests in protecting our people, our country and our form of government? Or is it commentary that gives vent to emotion and rejects opposing viewpoints by ridicule, alienation and anger?

The viewpoints of our opponents almost always have some kernel of validity or identification with which we can agree. Let’s start from there and work towards the best way to achieve common goals, without ripping holes in the fabric of community discourse.