Three Modest Resolutions

If, as they say, newspapers provide the first rough draft of history, then this week’s edition of The Bee attempts to provide a second draft — at least in the limited historical context of one year, 2007, in one town, Newtown. Before moving on to a new year, we are taking advantage of a slow week to reflect on the big stories — and some of the forgotten ones, too — that helped make the past year significant for our community. Some things have been done, some other things have been undone, and many more things have been left to do in 2008 and the years beyond. It is difficult to assess what kind of imprint we make on history at the end of any given year; the broad sweep of change can either erase achievement or harden it in high relief. We must wait to see what time will tell. But for now, we can use the people and events of 2007 to help define our resolutions for 2008.

First we must become more adept at reading the public temperament. A prerequisite for democratic leadership is knowing where people want to go. Judging from the eagerness and certainty of those who purport to know what the public mood is, this would seem an easy task. But Newtown’s voting stations have yielded many surprises in recent years, suggesting that the only ones who know what they’re talking about are the ones who admit that they don’t know what the town is thinking. The remedy is to engage and interest the public through formal public hearings on budgets, capital projects, even policy initiatives. The conversation may start slowly, but once the community comes to understand that someone is listening, people will start talking.

We must reject the politics of division, which only recently has taken hold in Newtown. We all know it when we see it. While it is sometimes hard to resist soothing our frustration or fear by destroying something or someone, we must remember that ultimately negativity produces negative results. By definition, the process of division diminishes us. The remedy is to discount the importance of public discourse that pivots primarily on negative characterizations of others and their motivations. In the marketplace of ideas, mud is a base commodity, readily available and in plentiful supply. Don’t invest something as dear as your trust with its purveyors. Keep your eye and attention on those who are talking about ideas and not people.

Finally, we must resist thinking of our collective community challenges as the exclusive responsibility of our “leaders” to solve. Never underestimate the power of little solutions over even big problems. Newtown is already blessed with people who have found that volunteer action yields measurable benefits to individuals in need and to the community as a whole. Some run for office, some respond to fires, some come to the aid of the injured and infirm, some pick up trash along the roadside, some shovel the walks of their elderly neighbors. Positive action produces positive results. Without Newtown’s individual volunteers, the town’s troubles would be multiplied many times over. With even more volunteers, our potential and purpose will quickly grow.

These are three modest resolutions well within our means to keep in 2008. Whether we make history in this year, or any year, will depend on our willingness to change and our resolve to build a positive future.