Before I hit the friendly skies to Tennessee (tomorrow), I just want to say thanks to everyone who is involved with the Take Back Wareham effort. We are far from done, but we've made an excellent start!  So many people from different walks of life are tired of the Selectmen, Town Moderator, and their pit bull reporter. It's not uncommon for people to shake my hand or tell me how much they appreciate our efforts. There are plenty of people still in the shadows waiting for the opportunity to join the effort. We may not see them active in public, but they are there, cheering us on and ready to vote in the election to help the cause.

I never set out to be a political activist. I just wanted to live a nice quiet life and enjoy the beauty of Wareham. The actions of the Selectmen, and now the Town Moderator and numbnuts Slager, have caused me to stand up and say no more. I have found folks that have experienced the same treatment or feel the same way, which makes this a group effort!

I came from a small town in Tennessee. If you want to discuss small town politics, believe me I've seen it. One of the major differences is respect for the citizens of the town. No matter how much they dislike what you have to say, they will listen. There is never a time when you feel you are banging your head against a brick wall trying to get answers. They will answer you. What I find the most interesting is how the town I came from rallys around a common ground. That common ground is the youth of the town. There are several activities for the children (ages 5 to 18). I can tell you if you want to see almost everyone in town, show up for a thursday night middle school football game,, friday night high school football game, or a saturday peewee football game. There are caravans to Band competition, and in the spring/summer, the sports grounds is filled with softball, baseball, and soccer games. The youth of the town are the future, and when a town recognize that, they have a common ground. We still have an old fashioned soda fountain in town, and the man behind the counter also has called high school football games for over 50 years. He knows every child and their parents. I coached football, baseball, softball, soccer, boys and girls basketball. Most of these kids are grown, but they still talk about the memories of "when we played peewee (insert your sport here)". We taught them respect because we learned respect. Some of the same people I spent years coaching with are the ones who are elected to run the town. Everyone works together. Town employees do not cower when the politicians come by. They may not like each other, but they have the same goal, which is make this town a better place to live and raise your family.

The local newspaper there is great. It just reports the news. Yes, they have editorials, but the news is just that, news! Imagine that. I went to church with one of the reporters. She told me she didn't care much for one of local politicians, but she bit her tongue and just reported the news. She said you have to separate your personal feelings from the news. I wish we had more of that here!

There are political conflicts. I've even seen some pretty low campaign tricks, but that usually backfires. Does it matter how you run your personal life? You bet it does. People take that into account when considering whether you can lead the town, right or wrong.

The biggest thing is respect. In order to get respect from the voters and citizens, you must first demonstrate respect. That is the key, or at least the key in a small town nestled between the rivers and plateaus of Tennessee.

Last edited by Larry McDonald (2009-08-12 09:21:54)