A new look at both sides

While Googling for the origin of “there are two sides to every story,” I was introduced (maybe reintroduced — it’s been a long time between lectures on Greek philosophers) to Protagoras.

Years ago, columnist Sidney Harris would write the occasional column that he’d title, “Things I Learned En Route to Looking Up Other Things.” And so it was with Protagoras, whom Wikipedia credited with first uttering “there are two sides ...”

Protagoras turned out to be the perfect guy to help me announce a bipartisan approach to political commentary that will run from time to time on The Vindicator’s oped page. The first installment of what we’ve dubbed “Two Sides of the Valley” will run next Sunday. Spokesmen for the Mahoning County Democratic and Republican parties will be given an opportunity to address a topic from their point of view.

In the Valley, this may not be a fair fight by the numbers, but what Republicans may lack in registered voters, they seem to make up for in fervor.

When I was approached last month by a Republican Party spokesman with a suggestion that the party provide a weekly column to be run on the oped page, I made a counter offer.

How about once a month, and what if the Republican and Democratic parties each submitted a column on an agreed-upon topic?

The Republican negotiator, Bill Johnson, liked the idea, and it took only one phone call to get David Betras, the chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party, on board.

Since next Sunday is the day before before Labor Day, the writers will focus on their party’s views of organized labor.

Johnson, who sometimes finds it necessary to introduce himself as “Bill (Not the Congressman) Johnson” (and, incidentally, he is also not the Boardman political activist of the same name), will be submitting the first column for the GOP. Working on the columns with him are three other men active in the Mahoning County Republican Party, Mark Munroe, Mark Mangie and Alex Mangie.

Johnson has been a safety consultant for more than 20 years, with clients nationwide. He is also the author of two historical novels, an avocation which led him to speak nationally in the persona of John Hancock.

Betras will present the Democratic side, though he may at times designate a surrogate. Betras is a lawyer who has long been active in Democratic politics and political campaigns and was presented the Ohio Democratic Party’s “Democrat of the Year Award” in June.

This is a work in progress. The only ground rule is that each writer address the topic. Each has wide latitude in how they do so, but limited latitude as to length. It’s not a response format in that neither will see what the other has written before both columns appear in print. We’re trusting that each will respond to the literary prompt with passion and eloquence. A dash of partisanship is to be expected.

For a closing note, let’s return to Protagoras. He was one of the principles in Plato’s dialogues, which could make him the patron saint of this political dialogue, except that he was an agnostic. He was also a relativist, and paraphrasing an explanation of relativism from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, that means that if it is 60 degrees out and Betras says he feels hot, while Johnson says he feels cold, you and I aren’t in a position to say either is wrong. We just get to compare their differing perceptions.

Look for “Two Sides of the Valley” on the page opposite this one next Sunday.

Mangan is editorial page editor of The Vindicator.