Unanimity is the sign of an unhealthy democracy.
Without any opposition or disagreement, there is no chance of a productive debate. More importantly, when like-minded people always agree with each other, they have no motivation to test new ideas or to think in different ways.
During the past few years, unanimity has been a way of life for Athens’ City Council. Of 519 ordinances voted on by council since January 2009, only 10 have had even a single “nay” vote. That means the council unanimously passed 98 percent of the ordinances proposed.
Only one of the 519 proposals failed to pass.
Part of that is a direct result of the composition of City Council — all seven members are Democrats — which is then up to local voters to decide.
With no Republicans on the council, its members should avoid taking the easy route and simply voting in the same way for everything. And because there are no Republicans on the council, the members have a duty to bring up opposing views that can test their own ordinances at a different angle.
It’s too easy to vote “yea” on everything. Healthy democracies should involve real discussion and debate. City Council members should remember that they do not only represent the constituents who voted for them, but all their constituents. The citizen’s right to have his or her views heard does not disappear after ballots are counted.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
