To the Editor:

Winding my way home from the 225th annual Town Meeting of the town of Wardsboro, I had the following reflections:

1. This is a wonderful institution and, as our moderator Dr. Backus admonished us, we should not take this democratic privilege lightly. It was won by the sweat and blood of our forefathers and maintained to this day by the sacrifices of many – chief among them our men and women in the armed services who put their lives on the line for us to enjoy the privilege of free speech and association.

2. This is good government. It truly is by the people and for the people. If we had anything even close to this process, we would probably not find ourselves in the political fiasco that describes our current Vermont Legislature and US Congress.

3. We received a legislative update from one of the “M & M twins” who resides in our fair town. Representative Moran teeters on a balance between stupefying incompetence and outright malice. As usual, he and Manwaring seem to justify their legislative existence by the amount of vitriol they can pour on Governor Douglas. Today’s example is Moran’s criticism of Douglas for stating that “one-third of Vermonters use government services.” Moran points out oh so shrewdly that we “all use government services (schools, roads, public health, etc.)” and that the governor’s comment is divisive. This coming from a Democrat whose platform is based on a century of class warfare divisiveness – pitting the “rich” against anybody else. Surely, even Moran knows that the governor was talking about those citizens who are receiving welfare, unemployment assistance, so-called earned income tax rebates and other government services. I wondered if Moran would feel that it would be less divisive if half of us received these services, or maybe he is in a complete “Brattleboro state of mind” where we would all enjoy the livelong day courtesy of the Vermont Legislature and nearly deficit-dead Uncle Sam?

4. I wondered how many of us realize that Vermont has the second smallest population of all 50 states. Where is the funding coming from to pay for these “free” services? Is everyone in the two-thirds not receiving government assistance “rich” or should we hang the cost on all those in the business community (greedy capitalists in Brattleboro-speak)? Quick newsflash: there are precious few “rich” in the two-thirds and capitalism is moribund in this unfriendly business state.

5. My summary reflection as I pulled into the driveway was, how would my town fellows of a century or two ago have responded on their respective town meetings if what they brought back from the day’s proceedings was the news that two-thirds of us would be taxed to provide for the other third, that if we succeeded in creating a business we would be taxed again, and if we died, our already-taxed assets would be taxed yet again? Oh, but they would probably all be reveling in the fact that last year’s government gave men the right to marry each other.

We live in “interesting times” and we have only a few chances ahead to restore sanity to our lives and our right to live free and not be fettered by a suffocating government. The state and federal elections coming this fall will give us the opportunity to regain our freedoms.

Ralph Wallace

West Wardsboro