Feel free to criticize from cheap seats, but take your turn in expensive ones
Great seats, eh buddy?” – Bob Uecker
It can be frustrating to those of us in the arena, who are doing everything we can, to be criticized and judged by people in “the cheap seats.” It seems that everyone in Southwestern Pennsylvania who has accomplished anything significant has had his or her moment under the spotlight of this crowd.
That’s why, in those moments, it is important for those in the arena to remember that even though they may be the cheap seats, those people still pay a price of admission. And that price includes the freedom to express opinions.
Perhaps it is a lack of experience or expertise, or maybe it’s simply a lack of courage that keeps them in those seats. Regardless of the reason, they are there, and they matter to those of us in the fray.
Those seats are reserved for individuals who will criticize elected officials without ever placing their own name on a ballot; the hard-working men and women in the natural gas industry without taking the time to understand the science behind the operations; and those of us trying to build a strong, resilient economy that will be sustainable for the next generation and beyond.
The one important fact that occupants of these seats don’t understand is those of us in the arena are not offended or intimidated by their opinions. In fact, we respect and actually defend their right to voice them. But here is the thing: If you are going to sit in the seats, you don’t get to have an expensive opinion in our work.
The board of the Washington County Local Share Account and the county’s Redevelopment Authority have been targeted by some cheap-seat sitters. Yet, they are going about their business and making a positive impact on Washington County communities – especially our small, distressed communities in the Mon Valley that are implementing critically important projects that, without the LSA program, would be impossible.
The cheap seaters also have targeted our most important industry, natural gas, even though it is the most heavily regulated industry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And the local impact fee setup provides our communities with a much-needed infusion of funding that can be used for a variety of projects.
As a side note, I recently toured the operating rooms at a local community hospital. The majority of the life-saving equipment there was made from a process fueled by natural gas.
We have just started the third decade of the 21st century, and I have begun my fifth decade working in the public sector on infrastructure and community development projects. I find it amazing that when I look up into those seats, I see faces that were there 10, even 20 years ago.
It is time to understand that when you are not willing to collaborate and become part of the solution, you and your seat are contributing to the problem.
Jamie Protin is founder and principal of The Protin Group in Belle Vernon.
To submit business-related columns, email Rick Shrum at rshrum@observer-reporter.com.