The candidates for Board of Selectmen and School Committee talked about a lot of things this week—the override, the budget, communication, the structural deficit, Devens, communication, the spirit of volunteerism in town, town center, wind turbines, communication, leadership, school excellence, communication, communication, communication.

All advocated for improved communication among the various town boards and between town officials and residents, and offered creative ideas on how that might be accomplished: quarterly tri-board meetings, more “open meeting” time on meeting agendas, more advance notice about planned discussions, blogs.

But communication issues in town can’t just be laid at the door of town officials. People who want to see improved communication here must also practice it.

People often take each other to task for one thing or another in letters to the editor in this, and other local papers. Letter-writing is great, and we encourage it. But while confrontation may be easier in print, isn’t it a less open way of communicating than in person or by phone? If we want our leaders to communicate more effectively, don’t we have to take on some of the hard work of effective communication?

The more we seek to avoid direct contact with others as we try to convey our ideas about things going on in town, big or small, the more we lose the spirit of community that characterizes the small-town life people miss when they talk about “the good old days” or “the way the town used to be.”

Revitalizing town center and protecting the “town’s character” have to do with more than sewers and the view shed. They have to do with people who care enough about their neighbors and town officials—whether or not they know them personally—to pick up the phone and have an honest dialogue about things they like, or don’t like about what’s going on in town.