Can the Center
Hold?
There is a deep tradition in Vermont of comity, people of diverse
opinions coming together in civil debate, listening to one another, suffering
compromise and getting things done that are in the best interests of community.
This happens in cabinet-level meetings in the Executive branch, in the Vermont
Supreme Court, the two legislative branches, in annual town meetings, select
board meetings, local taverns and diners, and at home in kitchens.
I was reminded of this recently in a community gathering in which
an array of top political officials from diverse political camps rose to speak
and expressed clear and genuine respect for one another. The extent of any
hortatory efforts to lay claim to a political position were gently teasing in nature
and always respectful. We must not lose this sense of comity. The strident “my
way or the highway” tenor of Washington
political debate threatens us deeply as a nation.
An ideological camp is an easy, if not cozy, resort. It has
clear tenets and facile sound bites (“Take Back Vermont” “No More War”) and is
enriched and entrenched in an environment of fear, insecurity and malaise,
becoming a repository for all that is wrong --recliner politics if you will.
There is no need to rise to an occasion, understand a complex problem, discuss
a solution or meet someone with whom you might disagree.
The place between ideologies is the uncomfortable place to
be. It is a place that calls on us to listen, think, question and remain open
to any articulate idea. It requires work of us, work policy makers in Vermont have
historically been willing to come together and do.
There is a wonderful construct of dialogue called
"Second Order Agreement” in which the adherent of one idea is called upon
to defend the idea he or she opposes in the presence of a third and neutral
party—each to the other’s satisfaction. It requires opponents at least to have
thought enough about the idea they oppose to be able to articulate it and propose
the opponent’s defense of it, a beginning of mutual understanding, if not
agreement. Many of our schools have maintained a tradition of debate, essay
writing and even documentary production all of which foster skills that support
a center.
As neoconservative theorists pull political strings and
demand a zealous allegiance to their ideology, punishing those who question or,
God forbid, defect from their ranks, and as Democrats scramble to redefine
themselves, the center in Washington
is not holding. Ideologues in both camps gird up for battle, not dialogue. It
is a crusade, more about money, allegiance, testosterone and religion than grappling
with complex problems like national security, healthcare and economic justice. We
need simply to adhere to the founding principles that self-proclaimed patriots
claim to revere, the free expression of ideas without fear of retribution, a
free and articulate press and electronic media that can differentiate between
entertainment, journalism, opinion and the ideological compromises to each they
seem willing to make to achieve their deregulatory ends.
Shortly after one of the most senseless wars in our history,
Yeats wrote:
Things fall
apart, the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the
world,
The
blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is
drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while
the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
A wise, open and vibrant society pays attention to its poets
and artists.
America
has flourished respecting these principles of free expression, open debate and
comity. How can we sell democracy abroad if we cannot practice it effectively
at home? We owe it to those we serve in a democracy to preserve and protect
this tradition, none of which can exist in a climate of fear and intimidation created
by political and religious ideologues seeking to transfuse democratic
principles with their “passionate intensity.”
In Vermont,
for the most part, our political leaders of all camps have worked hard to
ensure that the center holds. Let’s keep it up.
Bill Schubart
11:15:23 AM 
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