Good government isn't necessarily something that happens automatically. If citizens are concerned about how their government functions, or about the transparency of government, active participation is the best way to ensure that elected officials are doing right by the people they represent.

But this can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes, citizen advocates lack the experience and knowledge needed in order to hold government accountable — or, worse, they resort to outright mendacity in order to achieve desired results. On other occasions, we witness how the tenacity of a single individual can make a difference, as he or she stands up to the powers that be, armed with the knowledge that there is "right" and there is "wrong" and never the twain shall meet.

In the past few weeks, we've seen examples of each. The most recent had to do with serial prevaricator Andrew Breitbart's character assassination of Shirley Sherrod, an official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Breitbart managed to discover a video of Shirley Sherrod speaking at an NAACP conference, in which she said that, years before she was employed by the USDA, she had once felt racist feelings toward a white farmer she had been tasked with helping. What Breitbart's hatchet job didn't reveal was that the rest of the tape showed that Sherrod was actually relating a story about how she overcame her racist tendencies and moved past them. She even eventually became good friends with the aforementioned farmer and his wife, both of whom were interviewed on CNN.

But the Breitbart lie was all the White House needed to see: Sherrod was immediately asked to resign by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. She did so, despite the fact that she had done absolutely nothing wrong (though she was later offered another job in the department). The administration, terrified of the right-wing tempest created by Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and their radical ilk, folded like a cocktail napkin, and at the very first signs of trouble.

Contrast this with what happened several weeks ago in the Town of Mamakating. Summitville resident Richard Morris has for years been complaining, to deaf ears mostly, that Planning Board Chairman John Piazza doesn't actually live in the town, and should, thereby, be ineligible to serve in town government. Morris kept up his one-man crusade, however. He simply refused to back down.

Eventually, Morris found someone willing to listen. He presented his voluminous paper trail to the Sullivan County Board of Elections, which ultimately ruled that Piazza was not, in fact, as resident of Sullivan County, which, in turn, had the automatic effect of stripping him of his voting rights in the town. The Mamakating Town Board, eventually, saw the writing on the wall and agreed that Piazza had to go. After a heated debate, the board voted unanimously to declare Piazza's seat open.

These two events — one national, one local — might seem to have very little to do with one another. But they do illustrate a certain point: advocacy works. Not always, perhaps not even most of the time. But, on occasion, our elected leaders sit up and take notice of what the rabble have to say.

And, in such situations, it becomes even more important for our elected leaders to perform the proper due diligence. In the case of the Obama administration, officials moved too hastily, tossing aside a loyal federal employee before the right-wing Wurlitzer had even gotten warmed up. In the other, a seven-plus year crusade finally came to a head, as recalcitrant local officials were boxed in by the perseverance of a single individual.

So, kudos to Rich Morris, a man who knew he was right and refused to take "no" for an answer. And, kudos to the Town of Mamakating for finally upholding the letter of the law, albeit somewhat belatedly.