Politics is not a four-letter word, though you might think so after listening to the chattering class on the Sunday morning television talk shows. Political discourse, as it is practiced at the highest levels in this country, is shallow, manipulative, increasingly extreme, and frequently mean spirited. Apparently, with enough fertilizer, it is easier these days to sow contempt for your political opponents than it is to cultivate unadulterated support for your own political philosophy. No wonder we think of politics as a curse.

The Greeks invented both democracy and the word politics, which is derived from politikos, which means civic, and its root, polit, which means citizen. It is our sincere wish that citizens would once again reclaim politics and refresh our democracy with the honesty, mutual respect, dignity, and forthright action we like to associate with the American character. This will not happen if average citizens continue to throw up their hands in disgust with the political status quo and leave the critical decisions that shape our government to those few on the extreme margins of the political spectrum, left and right, whose actions, ideas, and inflammatory words have left us so discouraged and disengaged politically. It is so easy to see the damage extremism does in other countries; let’s not ignore the threats of it in our own country simply because we find the whole business distasteful.

Fortunately, political discourse in Newtown is remarkably civil, well informed, and positive. The prevailing ideology of both the town’s political parties seems to be common sense. At meetings of local boards and commissions, even when controversial topics are discussed, it is hard to determine who is a Republican and who is a Democrat. Local politics is more about ideas and less about partisan ideology. Republicans and Democrats alike are devoted to making Newtown a better community — but their success, as always, depends on the participation of citizens.

On Monday, July 25, both Republicans and Democrats in Newtown will be conducting caucuses for party members to formally nominate local candidates for November’s municipal election. The Republicans meet in the Senior Center at 7:30 pm; the Democrats are in the Lower Meeting Room of Edmond Town Hall. If you are a party member, do your town a favor and attend. If you are not, consider joining a party so you can take part in future caucuses.

Citizen by citizen, right here in our own hometown, we can start transforming politics from a curse to a cause for hope.