Driving from Sahali to Brocklehurst this past week, just by TRU, I heard on the radio that Oxford University Press has declared “rage-baiting” as the word of the year for 2025.

This is defined as online content “deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.”

As I came down the Summit Connector approaching the Mission Flat turnoff, I thought about the city budget public engagement meeting in mid-November. Our friends at Castanet described the 10.76 percent provisional property tax increase as “eye popping” and “unanticipated.” Very true, especially when the city’s director of finance shared the same thoughts in his presentation at the meeting.

It was clear at the meeting and from the news coverage that many city council members and many senior staffers agree 10.76 percent is too high and that the annual exercise to decrease the first announced provisional tax rate to the final approved tax rate should find more savings than usual.

Crossing over the Overlanders Bridge, I remembered that this, however, did not prevent an outcry on social media. Past city council candidates rushed to post videos urging people to contact the city to express outrage and revulsion at the 10.76 provisional tax increase. Nothing wrong with that.

Where it got into “rage baiting” is when people start hurling personal accusations claiming indifference, incompetence, and / or corruption without any hard evidence. The goal here is to make people furious and to motivate them to kick almost all council members off council in the 2026 local government elections.

This, of course, can make supporters of council members furious in turn, and also motivate them to ensure the council members they support are re-elected.

The motivation is a good thing. The furiousness and polarization is toxic and limits our ability to do incredible things in our community.

As I passed Nu-Leaf green grocers on Tranquille, I yet again turned to the insights of the amazing author and educator Parker Palmer. He writes:

“In a healthy democracy, public conflict is not only inevitable but prized … but when our debates degenerate into throwing fragment grenades, we go well beyond behaving like boors and become barbarians at democracy’s gates. We drive from the public square many citizens who do not want a life of combat, citizens who retreat to the illusory safety of their private lives, leaving a public vacuum that antidemocratic powers are eager to fill. When one cannot show up as a citizen without being literally or metaphorically armed, democracy is in decline.”

I’m approaching Mom’s house now in Brocklehurst, a place for me of great love, education, and community. Maybe avoiding the toxic cycle of furiousness comes from expecting and encouraging people to act from their best selves, and from educating ourselves and engaging others. What if we educated ourselves about the complexities (because yes, tax rates are complicated) instead of settling for soundbites designed to enrage. Let’s make our local democracy fulfilling, thoughtful, and even joyous.