Councilman responds

February 8, 2008

To the Editor:

Response to Mr. Blank, Sparta, NJ: “‘Silent Majority’ applauds trash plan”

Mr. Blank in his letter to the editor commended three members of the Sparta Township Council for “standing firm against the mob mentality…and still doing the right thing” i.e. voting for the creation of a utility and awarding the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder and in doing so he drew on the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and quoted him stating that “’the utilitarian view of government is to provide the greatest good for the greatest number.’” I applaud Mr. Blank on his ability to draw on his understanding of the word coined by Bentham - “utilitarian.” I was, however, struck by the fact that it was during Bentham’s lifetime that the American colonies split with England and that Bentham’s teachings later became known as “philosophical radicalism.” Perhaps that same mob mentality exhibited during the public hearings on the garbage issue has been passed down from past generations.

As one of the two councilmen who voted against creating a utility and awarding the contract, I, too, borrowed from Benthamism which is a philosophy based on the idea that mankind has two basic motives for action: gaining pleasure and avoiding pain. The reason for my voting against the issues was to avoid the pain for both the vocal and silent members of the purported lesser group (I will refrain from using the word minority as it invites comparison). What I had hoped my “nay” vote would accomplish was to make the Council realize mistakes had been made in the crafting of the bid specifications and it could simply re-do them and re-bid so that all citizens benefited …that the greatest good (pleasure) to the greatest number should be the ultimate goal. What a novel idea! It almost smacks of democracy as opposed to autocracy.

I think it appropriate to paraphrase the philosopher Santana by stating those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Not only did the township administration forget the protest following the last bid, it never sought input from the council prior to putting the proposal out to bid. And now we will do it again.

The oxymoronic “silent majority” Mr. Blank referred to basically remains exactly that…silent…and that silence is deafening.

Jerry Murphy, Sparta Councilman