In early February, I attended a discussion at the Portsmouth Music Hall led by Baratunde
Thurston, the theme of which was the fractured nature of our society and what we could do
about it. Thurston is a powerful speaker whose words are laced with humor, making difficult subjects easily digested. In this talk, his subject was “interdependence.” His point was that all things on earth are interdependent – a concept that preindustrial communities recognized as instrumental to their survival. But we seem to have forgotten that today. Not only do we often not recognize how interdependent we are upon each other and the rest of the living world, often we ignore our symbiotic, interdependent relationship with the environment in which we live.
He took this concept one step further when offering a solution. That solution was to accept and use the word “citizen” as an action verb. To citizen is to understand, respect, facilitate, act upon and recognize our interdependence upon each other and our world for our collective benefit.
As he spoke, I thought about the life lessons I learned while living in a Chadian village many decades ago. I recalled that everyone had roles to play to keep the village functioning. This included the very young to those of advanced years. No one was left out. It was a community that acted as nurturer, judge and jury, and provider of food, shelter, health care and safety. The nature of Bougoumene, a community of interdependent citizens, functioned much like a large extended family whose living arrangements were formed over centuries of trial and error and centered on how the village interacted with its physical environment. Each person’s contributions were rewarded by the knowledge they were needed and respected. Duties were shared, not bought. Contributing to the functioning of the village meant there was no need to worry about access to food and water, shelter, childcare, housing, or all the other things that add stress and worry to a society dependent upon having to pay for these services. Along with this went a respect for the natural world surrounding it and how the village was dependent upon the stability of its environment. I’ve always thought this community could serve as a model for how we could all strive to live in our own communities at all stages of our lives.
When Baratunde spoke about how we need to work together as citizens of a large,
interdependent community called the United States, I thought about Bougoumene as I pictured the towns of the Monadnock region. I pondered all the ways these towns serve their citizens and how their viability is culturally, socially, financially, educationally and environmentally interdependent. These issues most frequently come to the forefront during town meetings, where major impactful decisions are made that determine how well they do their job for the entire next year. The concept of interdependence is probably not at the forefront of voters’ minds, yet the final result of those town meeting votes determine to what degree towns can function interdependently for the benefit of their citizens.
I’ll get back to this idea in a while, but I first want to focus on another aspect of
interdependence — the often underrated and overlooked contributions given by citizens of our Monadnock region towns in the form of their volunteer hours and the contributions they make for the benefit of their communities. Their work most likely would otherwise be added to town budgets and funded by town taxes. These volunteer activities that save communities time and money are not usually accounted for, but the results are felt in those added extras that make our small towns desired places to live. In fact, these contributions are rarely, if ever, line-items on a town budget unless the organizations people serve need funds for basic maintenance.
Until recently, these activities went largely unrecognized, other than when publications like Yankee Magazine gave out a once-yearly shout-out to individuals throughout New England for their “exemplary service” to their communities. This role has now been taken up by the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s “Hometown Heroes” honoring, on a much more regular basis, those essential regional volunteers working behind the scenes.
Wilton’s Town Meeting will be held on March 10. One of the issues on the ballot is to
determine if Town Meeting will continue in its original format. This is an issue that may have a huge impact on how decisions are made. Some fear that without hearing people speak up on both sides of an issue before a vote, decisions may now be made with voters not understanding the ramifications of their choices. The downside is always that those attending must be able to be alert and awake deep into the night and that often precludes those with young children and those whose decades have added up to something significant, where bedtime falls increasingly earlier.
No matter what’s on the agenda, one thing is clear from looking at town reports: Those living in Wilton feel the most important role for town government is to preserve Wilton as it is today, saying, “The most important goal is maintaining Wilton as a small NE town and preserving our natural resources.” Residents overwhelmingly value Wilton’s small, quiet, rural character and open land. They do not want Wilton to get larger or more developed. In fact, 53% want to see more land preserved, and by a wide margin (59%), they would prefer residential development focused on repurposing existing industrial buildings. Recognizing the town’s interdependence upon its environment is one of Wilton’s strongest characteristics.
One of the reasons I write this column is because I want to make certain all the interdependent components of Wilton — meaning people, businesses, organizations, services and its environment — are recognized for what they add to my community and point out how they function as part of the whole. In this way, I suppose I’m “citizening” in my own manner.