In the August/September issue of this publication, Charlee Farley respectfully pleaded for the community to reject the No Border Wall referendum on the grounds that it would serve “no purpose but to divide our community unnecessarily.” Others in the community forcefully asserted that the border wall is a national political issue on which the town officials had no business taking action or even discussing in town council meetings. Still others posited that the town had no right to speak for them.
I suspect that Farley’s opinion that the referendum would only continue to divide us may be close to the truth, but that may depend on what we do with our differences. No matter which side we stand on, if all we do is simply accuse those on the other side of being wrong, narrow-minded or stupid, we indeed widen the gulf. If, on the other hand, we earnestly try to see where we may find common ground, we may come to a better understanding of how we can work together to, as Farley says, “keep our community neutral from the hatred that has crept into our country.”
As for those who believe the town officials have no business taking action on national political issues, I believe just the opposite. I believe all citizens have the right to ask
their elected officials to take a stand on any issue of importance whether it has local, state, national or international implications. This is especially true when it concerns the adoption of public policy that affects how we live together and the expenditure of tax dollars derived from all of us. Further, those who say the town had no right to speak for them should realize that the town speaks for them every time the council takes a vote on any matter. We elect our officials to speak for us. Sometimes we like what they say on our behalf, sometimes we don’t.