Another local election is behind us, and we welcome the citizen volunteers from both parties who bring diverse experience and creative thinking to the boards which govern Ridgefield. These citizens give freely of their time to make Ridgefield and our way of life better.
The voluntary commitment made by Ridgefield board members is very much the same as that made by our country’s earliest elected officials in the years following our independence from England. Our forefathers sought independence when Great Britain imposed tighter administrative controls and increased financial obligations. America was founded on the belief that government must be limited, must be for the benefit of its citizens, and must protect the individual and unalienable rights of all citizens. Elected officials governed for all as they would for themselves, safeguarding the liberties and freedoms of their fellow Americans. The two-party system did, indeed, bring differences in opinion then, just as it does now. But the essence of our America — the absolute principle of individual freedom, prevailed.
By sharp contrast, our elected leaders in Hartford and Washington operate far differently today. Service to country has seemingly become more about individual power and status. Governing has become more about self-interest and self-preservation. What may begin as wise legislation — at least from initial appearance and propaganda — eventually unveils itself to reveal non-essential entitlements and new regulations which serve the interests of the few at the expense of the liberties and freedoms of other Americans.
Our politicians promise to protect the basic rights spelled out in the Declaration and the Constitution but end up violating the rights of some people in order to benefit others. It comes as no surprise that people are pitted against one another, with government choosing winners and losers. Our federal government is anything but “limited;” it seems more like the Europe we ran away from.
We are fortunate to live in Ridgefield, our small town which still thrives as a free society. It is reassuring that we install volunteer government which works earnestly and selflessly to fairly represent all fellow Ridgefielders.
However, the challenges ahead of them are daunting. On the town side, there is the ongoing difficulty of reconciling the state’s affordable housing mandate — 8-30 (g) — with our town’s character. We can all see the evidence — the harmful impact on density, traffic and sewer. But I wonder if my fellow citizens comprehend the power they’ve lost in the process.
On the school side, it is very likely that health insurance premiums will increase dramatically as a consequence of Obamacare. These costs will consume a larger and larger portion of our school budgets for the foreseeable future. Because of a harmful federal law, we have lost the budget latitude to implement beneficial programs for our students. Do my fellow citizens see how they have lost power?
Hartford and Washington need to pay closer attention to American history and to the many small towns, like Ridgefield, which operate on the premise of citizen volunteers.
This column is supplied by the Republican Town Committee.