This commentary is by George Longenecker, a resident of Middlesex.
In Vermont and across the country, citizens have been running for city councils and school boards in an attempt to overturn policies and practices they believe are contrary to their interests. Flags and civil rights curriculum are at the top of their agendas.
However, many of these citizens seem as interested in disruption as they are in change.
In Barre last month, a perennial complainer and unsuccessful candidate turned a city council meeting chaotic. It wasn’t the first time this person had complained to the council. What was interesting about this meeting was that the council was prepared to do what he requested: hang a large United States flag over Main Street on Memorial Day.
The person had said on his Facebook page that the council would turn down his request. In fact, the council went beyond what he’d requested and moved to hang the flag on Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day.
However, he was so angry, loud and disruptive — continually interrupting the mayor — that the motion was withdrawn, the meeting recessed and police called. By the end of the meeting, once calm was restored, the motion was brought up again and passed unanimously.
This person was so hostile to the city council that he wouldn’t listen and couldn’t imagine that it might compromise and honor his request. He also had no sense that the council had other business besides his.
What happened in Barre is typical of what’s happening statewide and nationally as candidates attempt to change policies, including flags, vaccine mandates and school civil rights curriculum. While Vermont has only 10 city councils, it has a lot of school boards.
Earlier this year, candidates in Milton, Arlington, St. Albans and Springfield, among others, rejected school board candidates running opposed to Critical Race Theory, what they consider an anti-white curriculum. (School curriculum and what’s actually taught is a topic for another commentary).
Nationally, school board and city council candidates running on these issues have been more successful, winning school board or city council seats in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Colorado. The 1776 Project was founded specifically to elect such candidates.
Many of the candidates and their supporters have been hostile and disruptive, making it difficult for boards to do their jobs. What the aggrieved citizen in Barre doesn’t realize is that government — whether city council or school board — operates through compromise.
People are elected to their seats to manage their cities or schools. Citizens like the one in Barre like flashpoints and run on single issues, but fail to look at the bigger picture, from roads to housing to school lunch to diversity.
Perhaps their real agenda is disruption. There are times when disruption and protest may be a good thing, but if your sole agenda is disruption with no plan beyond that, democracy is in trouble.
