Repairing Our Democracy Starts Locally – and Immediately

By Corinne Hogseth

Civil discourse is an essential ingredient in a functioning democracy. We should all be able to agree on that. Participants in a healthy democracy need to be able to freely exchange ideas and listen to those shared by others. Propose, debate, come to consensus, vote, sign, enact. This is how it’s worked for hundreds of years.

I don’t believe there is a shared belief that we can agree to disagree in our community today. The spectacle of the December 17^th school committee meeting has shared widely by the Superintendent and members of the School Committee. It’s as pubic as it is BECAUSE the School Committee and administration made it public. It’s no surprise they’re now using the ensuing uproar to declare our entire community as racist, which then justifies their vote to cancel the Colonial.

The most visibly and justifiably offended member immediately associated the comments to the mascot issue without any proof whatsoever; after the meeting, she posted screenshots on Facebook on a page followed by thousands. Peter Light sent out an email to the entire community that went even further, calling out the post of a specific individual, twisting his words to suit the narrative pushed by the School Committee and throwing red meat to their Facebook lapdogs. In doing so, he and anyone who supports his views are now targeted for online bullying. Ironically, Mr. Light referred to that post as “malicious silencing”, which is really the pot calling the kettle black.

“Malicious silencing” perfectly describes the culture our School Committee and administration have created in our schools and by extension, our community.

Students who dare to wear Colonial gear are now called racists. Those who feel they “won” rub it in the faces of those who were opposed to the change. The harassment and online bullying by those who claim to advocate for “inclusion & diversity” has ramped up, emboldened by the words and actions of our so-called leaders.

Teachers are afraid to speak their mind for fear of reprisal from their colleagues and the administration.

Adults in the community don’t want to engage those with opposing views because the retort is always the same – dissenters are racist, homophobic, privileged, stupid or whatever label the mob chooses to assign.

The adults that are supposed to foster an environment of intellectual exploration in our schools instead stifle dissenting personal and political views by weaponizing words like “racist”. There is ZERO tolerance for diversity of thought.

I know in my house we can have lively conversations – fights even, because my kids aren’t hearing the same viewpoints at home and at school. The same cannot be said of most students in this district. My husband and I challenge our kids’ thinking, and vice versa. And the end of these discussions, we still sit at the same dinner table. We don’t call each other insulting names or break up into tribes. Our schools are failing to teach our kids how to think critically about multiple sides of an issue, how to respectfully debate and disagree with each other, how to come to consensus and move forward. How are they going to be effective, compassionate leaders without these skills? 

Our kids are going to inherit this mess. Our elected leaders at all levels have a responsibility to set a good example for them. The School Committee and administration are an unmitigated failure in this regard.

I hope the Board of Selectmen will call out their unethical, illegal and oppressive actions by formally requesting reconsideration of the vote to cancel the Colonial. Any decision that could impact the entire community – students, alumni, parents, residents – requires a truly open and thorough process to ensure all voices are heard.