Friday July 21, 2023

COMMENTARY: Spotsylvania Republicans are crumbling, to the detriment of us all

COMMENTARY: Spotsylvania Republicans are crumbling, to the detriment of us all

Our only hope is rediscovering the common good

by Martin Davis

Over the summer, I hosted several “Coffee with the Editor” gatherings to hear from readers about what they were enjoying, what they weren’t, and what they hoped would change.

Among the concerns voiced were a dearth of stories about Stafford County. The criticism was a valid one. There are some pragmatic reasons that coverage of Stafford hasn’t been robust. Certainly resources is part of the equation. One can only be in so many places at one time.

In the coming weeks, F2S is going to begin writing more about Stafford - from political races, to the controversy over the methadone clinic, and frustrations that small-business owners feel in the county. And bigger plans are afoot - so stay tuned.

But another reason Stafford coverage has not been as robust is because the situation in Spotsylvania County is so dire.

The school district is in disarray, with one board member facing a felony criminal trial in August, a mass exodus of teachers that has the system grossly unprepared to receive and educate the students soon to fill school hallways, a board chair who is so incapable of running a smooth meeting that she can’t even bring new business to the table, and a superintendent whose inability (or unwillingness) to communicate even basic information or understand basic terms (like the difference bettween SOL and SOQ) has destroyed parents’ confidence and has made the county school board a running joke.

And then there was yesterday’s story about local Republican candidates running for offices that require an extreme level of detailed work (Clerk of Court and Sheriff), but can’t even follow basic directions in completing paperwork to get on the ballot. (F2S will have more next week on additional issues with signature collection in the county.)

And at the center of all this chaos is a county Republican Party that has been completely overtaken by a group of people who have a clear sense of the highest good, but no sense for the common good.

Common good, not highest good

In fairness, I’m no philosopher. So for those educated in the finer points of these terms, bear with me, as I scribble my understanding in crayon, and try to explain what the common good means. (My scribbles owe a great deal to this overview of the common good produced by Santa Clara University.)

We each have a sense for the highest good. It guides our daily actions, and is what determines to a great degree how we understand and interact with the world. For some, this highest good is ground in religion. For others, it’s family. Still others find it in political parties.

Discovering the highest good is central to our personal maturation.

The common good, by contrast, is about discovering those principles that allow us to work together as a society, and accommodate as many different views of the highest good as is possible, and still function effectively and equitably.

Democracy’s unique contribution to world politics is its ability to balance the two, as John Adams explained:

Government is instituted for the common good…and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.”

What is happening in Spotsylvania is what happens when the highest good replaces the common good as the ideal that drives politics.

And the Republican Party of Spotsylvania has become about enforcing its understanding of the highest good on every member of the county. Disagree with their definition of the highest good, and you are a person who is tolerated, but not respected or owed the same rights as those who share Republican views.

Consider the parents’ rights argument. The board has pressed repeatedly on parents’ rights to defend removing books from school libraries, but has no regard for the rights of parents who do not share a worldview that sees banning books as a cultural virtue.

The list could run for several thousand words, but the point is made.

This embracing the highest good is already destroyed the cultural fabric of the county. And if it continues to hold power after November, the economic fabric may also tear, as families leave for communities that still hold to the common good.

The Republican Party needs to push out the elements that have made Matt Strickland a hero, Kirk Twigg a model of transparent leadership, and Mark Taylor the representative of what an enlightened education is about.

The Republican Party in Spotsylvania needs to recover the principles that once made it the protector of the common good, and fought a Civil War to preserve it. It must stop the elements that would rip the common good apart.