by Don Keelan
Some forty years ago, when I became a full-time Vermont resident, I brought with me my dedication to the New York Yankees. I quickly discovered that in my adopted home state, it was not the team to support.
Little did I know that I had arrived in a state where adoration for the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox was paramount. My affiliation with the Republican Party or being a “flatlander” was less of a concern.
Nevertheless, civility prevailed, even though my team and political support ran counter to the majority. At the national level, the latter began to change in the mid-nineties and continued as the years advanced into decades. Civility in discussing opposing viewpoints on national and statewide issues slowly eroded.
It is unfortunate just how divisive the political environment has become -locally, statewide, and of course, throughout the country.
Based on news accounts, Zoom sessions, and interviews with students, a lack of civility and tolerance has taken hold in our educational institutions. If you do not embrace the majority political opinion on campus, expect to be shut out, ostracized, and worse, physically and emotionally assaulted. Social media has only magnified the animus and vitriolic comments that are prevalent yet unaddressed.
Are we not willing to find out whether this is taking place at Vermont colleges and high schools, where students who do not align with the majority opinion elect to self-censor, disengage, or remain silent?
Are our educational leaders willing to find out whether student opinions that do not conform to those held by their professors or teachers risk punitive grading and, at times, outright verbal attacks? What is more impactful for students on college campuses who hold minority opinions is that they must share the same dining and dormitory facilities as those who they know have no patience for their political positions. And for the former, it is to live under constant stress. They stay silent and self-censor. It is a wise thing to do.
For the leaders of higher education institutions, whether at the college or high school level, are such fears unfounded at their institution? Could it be time to conduct surveys of their students? Does such a climate exist in the very place where it should not?
Back to the title of this column: “Democracy Demands Debate and Dialogue.” It is an expression mentioned on Fox Special Report on Common Ground by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MI). It was in the context of his describing how the Congress had on that day voted 396 to 7 to adopt legislation to provide more housing in America.
According to Cleaver, the legislation was critically important. However, what was more important was how the Members on both sides of the aisle came together, realizing that compromise and dialogue are what democracy is about.
How often do we hear or read that the present Administration is a danger to democracy? Based on what has been taking place over the past three decades, the open and present threat to democracy is not at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but at Capitol Hill.
Prior to the mid-1990’s, the “out” party would crossover and vote with the “in” party on major pieces of legislation, over 50% of the time. Today, such action has almost disappeared. Divisiveness, contention, and unwavering party allegiance are the orders of the day, not national interest. Sadly, such behavior has entered our educational institutions.
My die-hard Red Sox friends can argue whether their Ted Williams was a better baseball player than my Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio. It was clear that my feeling for “Jolting Joe” was in the minority, notwithstanding that my facts were indisputable. But what has always been present in any discussion has been civility, allowing each of us to convey our opinions.
I believe that we can no longer wait for civility to be re-established at the national level. It must take hold locally, and especially so at our schools and colleges. If the tent of democracy is meant to be a shelter for all viewpoints, there must be civility, listening, compromise, and a retreat from hiding behind the veil of social media.
The author is a U.S. Marine (retired), CPA, and columnist living in Arlington, VT.