Participate

We’re worried. Anxious, even. Understandably so. A deranged moron is in the White House, smashing a world order that has given most of us peace and stability for the past 70 years. Our lifetime. And rather than constrain their creature a majority of Republicans—when surveyed—continue to cheer him on.

Where are we headed? What kind of future do we face? And what, if anything, can we do about it?

These are the sorts of questions that propelled a sold-out crowd to file into the Regent Theatre last Thursday to hear David Frum. Though born and raised in Canada, Frum is a highly respected and widely quoted observer and critic of American politics. He served as a speechwriter to President George Bush and currently writes a regular column in The Atlantic.

Frum and his wife, Danielle Crittenden, own a home near Wellington. It was there that Frum wrote his latest book, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic last year. In it, he documents the conditions that allowed for Trump’s rise and the damage he is wreaking upon the institutions and alliances that safeguard us from the calamity he seems bound to ignite.

Both in the written word and in conversation, Frum is insightful, funny and precise. His tone is measured and thoughtful. He is not prone to exaggerate or inflate. He wants the reader, and listener, to be assured that each assertion he proffers rests on a bedrock of evidence, data and cited sources.

But many of the folks who lined up outside the Regent Theatre last Thursday anticipating his talk were looking for something more. They were looking for answers. Many want to know how this all turns out. Will we endure Donald Trump? Will we recognize a post- Trump America?

And while Frum offered a pathway forward, he declined to predict the future. He refused to speculate about how the Trump fiasco ends and what will be left in its wake. He said predictions, by their nature, run the risk of being wrong and making the predictor look foolish.

But rather more critically, Frum noted that predictions seek to absolve the predictor from participating in the outcome— that predictions assume that the future is pre-determined and that we are powerless to do anything about it. He rejects this thoroughly.

He pointed, symbolically to the work of the Prince Edward County Library board—sponsors of the evening’s event—observing them as a group of people, with a range of backgrounds, interests and experience, and likely politics, working together toward a common purpose. This, according to Frum, is how we reset the civil order being trampled by Trump.

Participate. This is Frum’s recommendation. It is his antidote to the maelstrom stirred up by Donald Trump and his supporters. To support and bolster the institutions that stitch together to form a cohesive society.

It is a timely message.

Nominations for election to council close on Friday. As of Tuesday, just 25 candidates were vying for 14 council seats including mayor. In three wards—North Marysburgh, Sophiasburgh and Athol—voters currently have no choice. As of this writing, these wards had just a single candidate for each council seat. On Monday morning, Picton had just two candidates for its two council seats. Three more joined the race later in the day.

And despite efforts to encourage more women in local politics—so far only four women have been nominated as candidates for council—existing members Janice Maynard and Dianne O’Brien as well as Stephanie Bell and Kate McNaughton. Of the 15 new candidates vying for council, 13 are men.

Councillor Bill Roberts noted at a recent committee meeting that a great many people ask him why he does it: Why he serves on County council? Why does he subject himself to the thankless work of local government? Roberts said his reward came in the form of innovative new policy and creative successes achieved inside Shire Hall.

It’s a fine answer—and I’m certain it’s true—as far as it goes.

But the question is wrong.

It ought to be: Why aren’t you, gentle reader, running to serve your community? Either on council or on any of the many volunteer boards and committees that make life better here? What is holding you back?

Yes, it’s hard work. And it is often thankless. But that’s not the point of participating.

So many folks in this community come with diverse backgrounds and deep experience. They bring astonishing skills and insight from around the world to our community. And few places engender such fondness of place, or such esteem for their patch of geography.

Frum’s message is plain—if you value your community and your way of life, it comes with a responsibility to participate in its progress and its survival.

Don’t do it for thanks, approval or reward—participate because you can. You have something to offer.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca