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July 01, 1992
Community-affirming politics in Waldo County (Belfast Coop newsletter, Summer 1992 issue)
As I put each part of the political year behind me, I more fully learn a basic lesson: Politics, if performed properly, can be a valuable community-building exercise.
When I came to Maine I was already a political activist, but from the outside. I was in the national leadership of The Greens and saw the two major parties as impenetrable obstacles to citizen-based politics. On top of that, I was in a role talking at rather than with the general public — convincing them of what was "right" — a role I was never comfortable with.
But here in Maine, I have reaffirmed what our Founding Fathers knew, the power of real grassroots politics. Community is at the core of it. My first encounter with community and politics working together was the infamous New England town meeting. Here people sort out their differences and come up with the way they will run their town for the next year. There is an overriding sense of responsibility for one's town, and of a need to sort things out and move on.
Next came the caucuses. As some of you may know, the latest State Democratic Convention voted, in a fit of anti-status quo sentiment, to put aside some of the caucus system, but that is an error I'm sure they will correct in two years. The caucus system is one of the last vestiges, along with the town meeting, of institutionalized grassroots democracy. The members of the community get together over coffee and sort out their differing views of the candidates running for office.
Not coincidentally, they also build community and build a grassroots-based party structure. Some of the people who attend the caucus get roped into party positions, making them responsible for their own democracy. Once they discover they can make a difference, there is no stopping some of them.
Democrats in Waldo County are particularly blessed. The county Democratic Party is very grassroots-based. It is highly responsive and accessible, and concerned citizens can jump in and make a difference with few obstacles. (Not surprisingly, Waldo County Democrats at the state convention also voted overwhelmingly to keep the caucus system.)
My next encounter with community-based democracy was the town zoning board. Again, local citizens got together to figure out what was best for their community. We got to know each other better, heard different points of view, and took responsibility for balancing concerns of our local environment, personal property rights, and the vitality of local business. After deliberation, we brought the result to the town and the town affirmed our conclusions. In the process, my understanding of the issues and how they interplay grew.
All of this sharply contrasts with the politics I have known all my life. When the grassroots community base in politics breaks down or is deliberately scuttled, people feel disconnected. They don't think that their representatives represent them and they don't think they can do anything to change that. If they take on political challenges at all, they take them on in a confrontational way — like a rebellious teenager attacking the Establishment that they see no hope of changing except be destroying it.
But here, while it sometimes seems otherwise, people can have hope of changing things. They can speak at town meeting. They can talk to neighbors. They can explain why they think one candidate or another deserves everyone's vote. They can join a political party organization and speak out at its meetings.
They can join the process. In a place like Waldo County, where real community survives, there is no need to fight the system. We are the system. We just need to realize it.
(c) 2004 Philip F. Rose
Posted by mtprose at July 1, 1992 12:00 AM