The Change We Seek
The people have spoken. From Woodstock to Washington the challenges are daunting and it is clear that everyone is expecting more of their public officials and rightly so.
If you haven’t watched the Howard Zinn video below, I urge you to do so. It not only applies at the national level, but extends to the state house and right here in Woodstock as well. If we have found our voice in such numbers as we saw last night, it’s the perfect opportunity continue to use that voice to demand what is right at all levels.
As we expect Mr. Obama to lead with thoughtfulness and integrity in changing the world’s perception of our country, should we not expect the same from our BOE, BOF, and Selectmen right here? The “anything goes” days are clearly over. The use of attorneys, wordsmithing and arrogance to extricate themselves from responsibility for their actions should not be tolerated. We have the voice and we need to use it either through direct communication or initiative and referendum that we have at the local level.
I feel that it is unfortunate that the Constitutional Convention was defeated through scare tactics, confusion of the issue and a massive fund raising effort by those who had the most to lose by giving more voice to the people. However, what this outcome does provide is an opportunity to more fully engage with your state officials. As I said to Mike Alberts yesterday- “if you win, expect that we are going to light a fire under you going forward.” I think the message was received considering that Ms. Vogt gave him quite a run for his seat. I fully intend to find out what Mike means by “open and transparent government”.
As Mr. Obama put it so eloquently last night- “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.”
If you haven’t watched the Howard Zinn video below, I urge you to do so. It not only applies at the national level, but extends to the state house and right here in Woodstock as well. If we have found our voice in such numbers as we saw last night, it’s the perfect opportunity continue to use that voice to demand what is right at all levels.
As we expect Mr. Obama to lead with thoughtfulness and integrity in changing the world’s perception of our country, should we not expect the same from our BOE, BOF, and Selectmen right here? The “anything goes” days are clearly over. The use of attorneys, wordsmithing and arrogance to extricate themselves from responsibility for their actions should not be tolerated. We have the voice and we need to use it either through direct communication or initiative and referendum that we have at the local level.
I feel that it is unfortunate that the Constitutional Convention was defeated through scare tactics, confusion of the issue and a massive fund raising effort by those who had the most to lose by giving more voice to the people. However, what this outcome does provide is an opportunity to more fully engage with your state officials. As I said to Mike Alberts yesterday- “if you win, expect that we are going to light a fire under you going forward.” I think the message was received considering that Ms. Vogt gave him quite a run for his seat. I fully intend to find out what Mike means by “open and transparent government”.
As Mr. Obama put it so eloquently last night- “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.”
Unless President Obama throws the far left under the bus, which I do not believe he will do, I am not terribly optimistic about the CHANGE that's coming.
I will, however, hope for the best.
If what he did as the President of the Harvard Law Review in moving directly to the center is any indication, your hope should be answered. You can read about it -HERE-