President’s Message
Positive Thinking. Positive Change. “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” — President Harry Truman
The National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) continues to provide a wonderful network of people working together in the democratic process. There is a tremendous need to share the benefits of our organization with others so that membership grows and our values are shared with greater numbers. For positive growth and participation, intelligent optimism, rather than negativity, provides the best assistance. Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th ed.) 10:11 cautions us on making negative motions: “A motion whose only effect is to propose that the assembly refrain from doing something should not be offered if the same result can be accomplished by adopting no motion at all.” Our well-versed parliamentarians know that normally motions must be stated in an affirmative manner. Organizations too can benefit from members adopting a positive outlook when considering the objectives and work of the organization. Instead of considering only the dissenting voices that say, “You can’t do that,” “We never did that,” “We don’t have the money to do that,” and “That doesn’t work,” what if we consider ideas such as, “How can we make it work?,” “Let’s try it,” “How can we afford it?,” “How can we get help so we can do that?,” or “We haven’t done that lately, let’s try again.” Just as parliamentarians may tell you the negative vote seems louder than the affirmative, often the leadership hears the negative voices more than the positive ones, even when the negative is distinctly in the minority. In the same vein, it can be irksome to hear only complaints about “they” when the responsibility for improving our organization includes the speaker. All of us are ambassadors for the cause of parliamentary procedure. All of us should listen to our peers and share our own ideas and hard work.
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National Parliamentarian • Winter 2024
