By Chris Barts
Some of the greatest events in our life are private events. Birth, birthdays for all but the most famous, first deer brought down on a crisp fall day, first time behind the wheel on some dusty backroad, marriage and its consequences, all private occurrences in the lives of most people. For every time there is a place. Having something done in the wrong place causes, at best, minor disturbances, and, at worst, severe repercussions.
With that in mind, we can now bring up legal discussions. Schools, courthouses currently in use as such, legislative buildings, and libraries are, among others, all public buildings, paid for by those whole of the people indirectly through taxes and, sometimes directly through minimal user fees. With this level of funding come certain responsibilities on the part of the people who directly own and maintain the buildings. Foremost among these is use. How can a building be considered public if they do not allow the public to use it within certain restrictions, restrictions set by the public itself?
Now, it's obvious that an armed person cannot just stroll into any of the named buildings, and closing times are dictated by economic necessities. So, it has been established that, to protect the freedoms of the many, the wants of the few must occasionally be curtailed. This is the basic precept of all democratic systems, and is employed by all just laws passed by any government from the city on up.
Living in a democratic system, one cannot say that a section of a public building is to be used for a private event without prior notification being sent out to everyone who could be affected. This also includes that time is given to those who do not want the event to be held in that particular place, so all sides may be heard. This is an essential part of democracy, if one of the most often trampled on.
All the problems caused by private functions held in inappropriate places would be solved if there was appropriate place, such as a community auditorium, open to all but able to have sections of it reserved for private use. This would increase the amount of political groups organized, simply because they now have a place to do it, a stump to talk from. Also, things like education would be improved, because plays could be put on there by drama classes and speeches given by speech classes. Culture would come to the region, because organizations like professional and semi-professional touring theatric and musical groups would have a place to perform. The revenue generated by ticket sales would, through taxes, fund public works, and businesses notice towns that have a strong artistic community, because art keeps people happy and in town buying things.
And, last but not least, drug use would go down. One of the causes of drug use, after peer pressure and ignorance of the dangers involved, is boredom. Boredom is greatly reduced if there is a play going on in town, or a concert, or even just a club get-together.
With all the advantages a community auditorium would bring, how come we don't have one?
