Last month, 24 Greenfield residents gathered at the Meetinghouse to enjoy a homemade dinner and talk about “what’s on their minds.”
While the event was organized by the Greenfield Democrats, it was a non-political, non-partisan event designed to bring people in town together.
“We are really proud of this event. We had people with every letter in their voter registration attend – Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and undecideds,” said co-organizer Nanette Perrotte. “For people to walk into an event that someone else has organized, and not being completely sure what was going to happen – that is very difficult. We don’t take what happened there lightly.”
“What’s On Your Mind” conversations are part of a grassroots national movement aimed at bringing people together in a time when the nation is divided by deep political tension.
Co-organizer Celia Oliver said the group worked to make it clear that the event was not a political discussion or a debate, but rather a gathering to bring people together and discuss local issues.
“We were very clear: this was about getting to know your neighbors again. There used to be so many different ways to meet your neighbors and for communities to get together, and it doesn’t really feel like that anymore. If we could all get to know one another in a friendlier atmosphere, it can make a huge difference,” Celia said. “There were some people I didn’t know, but they were there because someone in town, who they trusted, invited them, so they came. And it was so wonderful.”
Volunteers from the Greenfield Democrats planned the event for months, including training on how to moderate it. Jep Streit, a retired Episcopal reverend, moderated the conversation, and Jim Fletcher helped with marketing and publicity.
“We have spent months trying to figure this out. We are trying to handle this with open arms, but also with sensitive kid gloves,” Nanette said.
“We needed a neutral moderator. Jep started the conversation by telling a story about his experience with his own father, and how they saw things differently but respected and loved one another, and that really put everyone at ease,” Celia said.
So what do Greenfielders have on their minds? At the top of the list was affordability, the increasing cost of living, and ever-rising property taxes. Some people raised concerns about the effects of climate change, particularly the increasing number of wildfires, or expressed fear of turmoil at the upcoming elections.
According to Celia and Nanette, a consistent theme of the conversation was that people feel safe in Greenfield and comfortable talking to their neighbors. Celia said the conversation included “so many wonderful, really positive things about Greenfield.”
“One thing we heard a lot about is how the zoning board and the planning board are really working with people and helping them, rather than being an obstacle,” Celia said. “There are so many things that are really positive. People are really happy about FlagLeaf Bakery and the Blackfire Farm store opening; they love the Harvester Market; they love Mi Corazón,” Oliver said.
Another big topic was education. Many residents said they were worried about how the EFA voucher system would affect public school funding. Others asked about curriculum and want to be sure their children are getting a strong education, particularly in STEM.
Most people agreed there is a “disheartening lack of respect” in the country today, and wondered what we can do to change it. Another theme of the discussion was how to get young people involved in the community.
“A lot of people talked about how do we get more young people involved in town events and on committees? Part of our hope with these community conversations is to illustrate what it means to be a small town, and to talk about what it takes to live in a small town community. Sometimes people just don’t know; they may not be aware the town is mostly volunteer-run,” Nanette said.
Both Nanette and Celia said they felt the event went a long way to eliminate the divisiveness caused by national politics, social media, and the national media.
“The question is, how did we get here, with so much animosity?” Oliver said. “We really feel that there is more that unites us than divides us. It’s social media and other players with not such great motives in national politics who are fanning the flames of division, for their own purposes, whatever those purposes are. That’s not how Greenfield is.”
“It’s easy to kind of stay in your silo. It’s a lot harder to walk through the doors of the Meetinghouse, trusting people you maybe don’t know, or maybe you have preconceptions about them, and get to know them for who they are. The question is, what happens to what we did in the Meetinghouse when we step outside and confront the wider world again?” Nanette said.
Nanette said one of the biggest problems she sees in our society is the concept that people are on different “sides.”
“What was so wonderful about this first ‘What’s On Your Mind’ conversation is that the whole ‘my side,’ ‘your side’ thing evaporated really quickly,” she said. “From the minute people walked in the door and saw who was there, it started to just fall away. Some people walked in with a little trepidation, but then it was like, ‘Oh, I know people here; these are my neighbors.’ Pretty soon people were all talking together like, ‘Hey, that’s a great idea; I’d love to help. The joy is that people still wanted to come and blur that line in the sand. Because intrinsically, all care about each other.”
Both Nanette and Celia said the love of Greenfield and people’s desire to support the community came through loud and clear.
“We love the same woods, we love the same trails. We all try to hire local, we try to buy local, we refer one another’s businesses, we all help one another,” Nanette said.
“Everybody was just happy they had made the choice to be there. It was beautiful,” Celia said.
The next “What’s On Your Mind” event is scheduled for Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Meetinghouse. Representative Molly Howard and candidate Jarvis Adams will attend, and all Greenfield residents are welcome.
