ANALYSIS: A Wakening Wind
National politics offer cause to be concerned about the future of democracy. Locally, however, the winds of self-government are blowing warm and strong.
by Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Tuesday officially kicks of the presidential election in Virginia when the voters go to the polls to formally cast their ballots for what looks to be a foregone conclusion this November - a repeat of 2020’s presidential election. (For information on where to vote, poll times, sample ballots, and related information, see our Election 2024 page.)
A feeling of frustration, nay, depression, is understandable. And yet, to borrow Ta-Nehisi Coates’ imagery from We Were Eight Years in Power, I have felt within the past several weeks that the political “wind was waking all around me.”
Our singular and collective voices in this region will have relatively little sway over the outcomes in November for the presidential race. But here in the Fredericksburg region, whether as individuals or as a small force for change, we can have a significant say in who represents us in the halls of Congress. And we can make change happen in our area by refusing to stand by while the status quo moves forward unchecked.
That’s precisely what citizens in our region are ever-more-boldly doing.
Waking Voters
For some 70 years, political scientists have studied Americans’ political leanings. And throughout that period, they’ve consistently found that “independent” voters are both a marginal factor in politics, and indeed, aren’t all that independent. Instead, they tend to be closeted Democrats or Republicans.
That theory, however, has come under attack of late. Omar Ali of the University of North Carolina, in his book The Independent Voter, explains the problem in an interview with UNCG:
Independents have a broad range of ideological positions – but what many have in common is that they are alienated by partisan gridlock. They are concerned that Democratic and Republican party interests take precedence over compromises and practical solutions.
But can independents actually make a difference in an electoral system that is controlled by party money?
In November we saw two independent candidates - Megan Jackson and Belen Rodas - win school board seats in Spotsylvania. The reason was driven by voters’ frustrations with a board that was spiraling out of control.
The same spirit that vaulted them to power drives a new informal group in Fredericksburg led by Anne Little, the “democratic Breakfast Club,” with an emphasis on the lower-case “d” in democratic.
As Little noted at the inaugural event on February 24, the club is “dedicated to informing voters about issues and candidates in our region. All are invited to attend and connect with your neighbors in our shared goals to stay informed and engaged.”
That sentiment is hardly new - we’ve heard it all before. But what she said next is too infrequently heard:
I do not have the answers, but more importantly I have the same question that Rodney King had so many years ago: “Can’t we all just get along?”
Like so many voters, Little has grown tired of the toxicity in our public square. “Most of my friends,” she said, “both Republicans and Democrats, are not extremist. They want government to solve problems and know that compromise is not a dirty word.”
She concluded by noting that divided government works best, because it forces people to find common ground.
Both Shaun Kenney and I were invited to speak at the event about our views on the importance of the 7th District race. We gave our thoughts, but more importantly, we shared wide ranging discussions with people from across the political spectrum in our region. It was a welcome experience to see those who one might normally eschew break bread and talk honestly about the issues confronting us all.
Of course, one breakfast club won’t close the political fissures that separate us, but this meeting spoke to the hunger people have for a new discourse - the room was packed.
Waking Activism and Media
“Activism” in its most general sense - people actively engaged in the political process - has gone through cycles both revered and reviled in U.S. history. Locally, we’re entering a cycle that should command people’s respect.
Laying aside for a moment questions of who is right and who is wrong, look at what has happened in our region over the past few months.
When word began to spread that Mary Washington Healthcare was moving to close the Kids’ Station daycare on the MWHC campus, hundreds of concerned parents, working professionals at Mary Washington Hospital who use the daycare, and other people similarly struggling to deal with finding quality, affordable daycare in the area, took to social media and reached out to the Advance to make their voices heard.
The situation - for the moment - has come to an amicable conclusion that doesn’t leave families stranded without adequate daycare.
But it’s also shone a bright light on the crisis facing families in our region with daycare.
A similar backlash came when it became public knowledge that Mary Washington Healthcare was moving to place the Moss Free Clinic in a vice that would in all likelihood lead to their being forced out of their building.
Later reporting over grant applications has elicited more responses from the public about MWHC’s relationship to Moss. A meeting between the two boards is scheduled to work through some of the issues that have elevated public concern. Let’s hope an amicable resolution comes from this meeting, as it did with the Kids’ Station situation.
Citizens are also getting bolder about expressing their concerns to their elected representatives. Recently, FOIA’d text messages among some City Council members surfaced and were shared by private citizens via email and social media. (The Advance has not reported on these messages, though we are in receipt of them and exploring the questions they raise.)
There is no immediate resolution, but this alerting of government officials that people are watching ensures that sunlight is let into government processes.
A more complex situation, which the Advance has reported heavily on, has been emerging in Spotsylvania County. Following a combative meeting between swim team parents and Riverbend High School administration, Theo Marcus - previously a coach on the swim team - grew concerned about the level of involvement select School Board members and school administrators were playing in trying to control every aspect of a controversy that has destroyed the swim season for Riverbend athletes, led to the firing of the school principal, and now risks growing uglier as former Board Chair Lisa Phelps has yet to turn over requested records.
This story, unfortunately, is far from over, and the Advance will continue to stay abreast of what is transpiring.
Finally, late last year in Stafford County, a group of concerned citizens banded together to fight a methadone clinic being dropped into their neighborhood with little, if any, forewarning by Stafford officials. (See the Advance’s reporting on this situation here, here, and here.)
The Winds of Democracy
Sometimes, it takes losing something to appreciate the importance it plays in our lives.
Such has been the case in this region as local news coverage has waned since the once mighty Free Lance-Star was taken over by a national organization with no ties to our region.
The loss damaged this community for a time. But it has also awakened citizens to the importance of being informed, and it has re-established in the minds of many the importance of local media.
Over the past year, the Advance has been honored to help fill the need that we all have for information about the people, institutions, and organizations that shape our community.
It has been equally rewarding to watch people wake up to the importance of being involved in the governmental institutions, as well as the public and private organizations, that shape our lives.
The winds of democracy are, indeed, waking all around us.
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I used to wonder how someone like Trump could be like he is. Then just accepted it as it is. After all, mental illness isn't solely a disease of the poor.
I then wondered how so many people were either unethical enough or stupid to follow him; with their attachment growing stronger with every principle broken. Then...
Then how so many otherwise decent people compromised their principles to accept being associated with a party or people who were and did such things. Then...
Finally, I wondered how others were willing to so studiously look the other way, for the sake of comity. If there were ever any principle they would not compromise in order to act like they've achieved something by letting Shaun buy them a beer?
I reviewed in my mind all of the bridges, all the lines of society and decency, crossed in the last decade or so. None of that has done it. Why believe there is something that would?
Innate racism in the birther movement. From the party of Lincoln. To the extent that the actual KKK filed for celebratory parade permits upon victory. And when tragedy struck, we learned there were "good people" on both sides of torch marches.
Mockery and disrespect to veterans. And them thanking him for it as a group. A draft dodger mocking an honored, wounded POW like McCain, attacking those who stood up for principle; whether Vindman, Mattis, Kelly, Mueller.
A man found in court to have committed sexual assault, admitted on tape doing similar actions, and is under indictment for actions taken to hide such acts. Along with various frauds, insurrections, intelligence lapses, etc. Only 7-8 dozen, but who's counting?
Abandoning allies, attempted insurrection, caging of children, 100's of thousands of unnecessary American Covid deaths, deficit exploded, cops attacked, attempting to invoke martial law, yada, yada, yada - and not only is he still doing it, and actively working to do more of the same - as his followers line up to follow him once again, some gladly - some holding their nose - but we still have fine folks such as yourself proudly telling us how - no matter all or any of that - (and I know I missed many, many similar items) - look at you, it's still not enough for you to say enough.
You'll still take that beer, by golly. Shame on anyone who won't. Because the important thing is that we don't judge. O
And meanwhile, be sure not to consider any of that while voting, because your vote on national issues does not matter. So don't bother.
But it's all okay, because we agreed with each other that it was bad when they closed the daycare......
The good news is that, to me, none of that is really news. Any more than any of the other things I wondered about in the past.
I guess that's progress, in that I have few expectations along that line? Though I doubt where we are progressing to is where we really want to be.
I will say this though. If there IS a principle that folks like yourselves won't abandon for that next round of self-affirming beer; you've hidden it well.
Very well.
We are with Leo Watkins on this. Pretending there is parity between an actual political party and one that has been infiltrated by a Russian intelligence op is ludicrous. There are certainly legitimate conservatives in abundance, but we are in the middle of an existential crisis that we ought not to pretend away. Local politics is also clearly infected and the related corruption extends well beyond King George County and the Spotsylvania School Board. We are going into the third national election where one party is willingly accepting the assistance of a foreign power, and an anemic press appears unable to imagine such things possible. Wow.