Representative Town Meeting 2018 Thoughts
The following is an excerpt from some replies I made on an FBIbook thread. I want to share them here in part to also mention an invitation to discuss Town Meeting more deeply. you will see the invitation at the end.
…Without making any claims about whether or not we came up with the right or wrong answers, overall I believe the decisions (at this year’s Representative Town Meeting) closely reflected the knowledge, experience and traditions of this town meeting and its attendees. The citizens in this exercise of democracy gave a very honest, sincere and respectful rendering of what they knew and what was in their hearts. There was a very powerful sense of community present. Not all of it evaporates at the end when we scatter. A few of the new people will have left feeling like they have drawn closer to their neighbors. They will feel a stronger sense of belonging and responsibility. There are good reasons that many people return for ten and twenty and thirty years. In this way Representative Town Meeting is invaluable.
