Month: May 2024

This week’s story in the CV about the board reversing their decision to defund PVCC will state that they changed their minds after their concerns were addressed.

And despite Supervisor Tony Williams mush mouthed “explanation” it was never clear what those concerns were, or how they were resolved. This was not an oversight, the purpose of this dog and pony show was to incite outrage and fear.

Apparently, the Board expects the citizens of Louisa to forget their deeds, and to accept their autocratic behavior without question.

So I’m curious; what kind of message did they think their imperious demands would send to the LCHS graduates attending PVCC?

Do they believe that belligerent attitudes and vindictive power plays reflect local values, or is a productive use of their time?

I had one Supervisor say to me, ” I’d don’t need to see any movie, to know I did the right thing.”

Perhaps, but for me, such cocksure certainty indicates an incurious and arrogant approach to problem solving.  One which from all appearances is shared by the rest of the board.

Based on their past history of reflexive contemptuousness towards any transparency on this and many other issues, I don’t expect them to change anytime soon.

But I would remind them that the 2025 election and accountability are much closer than they think

Jon Taylor

Editor’s Note: this is a modified version of a letter submitted to the Central Virginian, and is re-posted with the author’s permission.

The Declaration of Independence proclaimed a vision of broad human and political equality that was unique in the world in its time and remains so.  On behalf of thirteen colonies huddled along the eastern seaboard, our founding declaration reached beyond then current realities to assert that fundamentally all persons are created equal, that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. This theme is the core of the Pledge of Alliance. 

Can we still cherish this promise in an America that has grown to be a diverse nation of 50 states, the largest economy in the world and an international power at the center of the entire world’s attention and remain a beacon of hope?  

The composition of the Declaration was entrusted to a five-man committee. While Jefferson did the bulk of the writing, the combined brainpower of this committee is breathtaking, as they took stock of European and world history from the vantage of Enlightenment thinking and started an experiment in government like no other.  Many Americans still treasure these ideals, and the Declaration is often displayed in public buildings and monuments.  

The last time this nation celebrated the Declaration was in 1976. The bicentennial was a time of tri-cornered hats, tall ships in New York harbor and a general celebration of the success of our democratic republic.  The celebration also coincided with recent memories of the 1972-1974 Watergate political break-in scandal, directed by then-President Nixon during his campaign that year, and the shadow of U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.  Both were confusing and difficult national experiences. 

The bicentennial year also featured a contest for the presidency. The incumbent Republican, Gerald R. Ford, was challenged by Democrat Jimmy Carter. The election was hotly contested and went down to the wire. In the end Carter prevailed. Carter’s margin of victory, while convincing, was not a landslide. Carter won by 1.7 million votes and had 297 electoral votes to Ford’s 240. By all accounts, Ford was crushed by his relatively narrow defeat. But instead of being bitter and brooding about the loss, he did what had been traditional and admirable in American political history, conducting a smooth and orderly transfer of responsibility and power. 

Contrast that with the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by seven million votes. In the electoral college Biden received 306 votes and Trump 232. Despite the convincing margin of Biden’s victory, then President Trump began a campaign to cast doubt on the election’s results, the exactly opposite of Ford’s response 48 years ago. 

Rick Atkinson, historian of the American revolution, noted that our country was “born bickering.” Indeed, over the centuries debates have been hot and heated. Despite that discord, the American republic has survived and prospered. The American system of democracy always assumed multiple voices would be heard. The tension out of which the Declaration of Independence emerged was that with King George as head of state and church, citizens were ruled whether they consented or not. 

As we look back over the past 250 years, the words of Daniel Boorstin, a former Librarian of Congress, are humorous and relevant. Boorstin once said that trying to plan for the future without a sense of history was like trying to plant cut flowers. We should remember that our republic is the product of some of the best of American leadership drawing lessons from the tyranny and frustration of old-world monarchies. Our three-branches of government invites expression of multiple and passionate views.  The work of citizenship is to work hard to find a governing consensus.  

Anger and division did not build America. It is commitment to our founding Declaration that sustains hope and has been the north star.  Life. Liberty. Equality. Happiness.  Let us be civil with each other and mindful of our history as we strive together keep the American Dream open to all. 

Dave Reuther

Editor’s Note: This op-ed originally appeared in the Culpeper Star Exponent , and is re-posted here with the author’s permission.