Among postmodernism’s maladies is what theologian J. Gresham Machen identified three generations ago as a hositility to precision in saying what we mean. “Indeed,“ Machen said, “nothing makes a man more unpopular in the controversies of the present day than an insistence upon definition of terms.“

Perhaps it’s my conservatism that makes me cherish that quote enough to have cited it frequently in print and again here. That probably also explains my distaste for lexicographers altering definitions, quite frequently to adjust for the gross misuse of terms, thus defiling what I like to think of as “A Second Good Book,“ the dictionary.

So what does this have to do with economic development? Nothing. I just enjoy thinking about words.

Now to resume rambling:

Alterations to terms sometimes have benefits. The definition of conservative, for example, has been amended to include this from Merriam Webster’s: “... a philosophy calling for lower taxes, limited government regulation of business and investing, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility for personal needs ...“

Conservatism does not entail aversion to all change, as its definition commonly has been written, to the exclusion of even the implication of deeper philosophical views.

In the case of economic development—ah, so there is a point!—conservatives see value in change done rightly just the same as many Democrats recognize the necessity of spending smartly and within means.

People from both sides of the aisle (and, might I suggest, both factions) recognize the importance of the local economy to the community’s short- and long-term health. As River City board member Chris Graham said recently (in effect): “Economic development is not a partisan issue.“

That’s why in forming the River City 2020 board, we’ve been intentional about pulling in people from all philosophical walks, including Chris, chairman of the local Democratic Party, and Reo Hatfield, a conservative who has rubbed elbows with Sean Hannity.

Among the ulterior aims is to demonstrate to others (hints here) that people of views widely divergent and strongly held can find common ground, and all without selling their souls. This is especially true when the subject is the good of Waynesboro.

We know our elected city leaders know this as well as we do. To their credit, they’re going about finding that common ground practically every day. Our goal is to push that spirit of cooperation—not compromise, mind you; Webster’s will show you the difference between the terms—into the realm of economic development. We are supremely confident in the possibility of this.

Because whatever our ideologies, each of us on the River City board and in the elected ranks of City Hall is one on building a better Waynesboro. What we hope is that all will recognize not the importance of economic development—for all know this—but the city’s role in making it happen.