The best arrival is where one’s destination is a happy and well-ordered one. That’s not always possible, sadly. One may take a new job in a community where a few act selfishly and wrongly.
It’s unsettling to arrive to a situation like that. The pressure for the newcomer to go along, to accept bad practices and self-interested behavior, will be nearly overwhelming.
One will hear everything: that’s how it’s done here, that’s how it should be done here, and that those entrenched few are ‘good’ people, and so cannot be wrong on policy.
It would be easier if Whitewater, Wisconsin were already well-ordered. I wish that it were. One day it will be.
Not yet. The newcomer’s challenge awaits, serious, difficult, and unenviable.
There a story about local Whitewater success Topper’s Pizza over at the Janesville Gazette. (Quick note: I have no connection to Toppers, except as a repeat customer.)
The best successes are those that come from one’s good products, good ideas, and hard work.
There are three municipal, public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater today. At ten, the Whitewater-University Tech Park board meets. At 6:00 p.m., Alcohol Licensing Committee meets. At 6:30 p.m., Common Council meets. The Common Council agenda is available online.
The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls a famous treaty signed on this date:
1832 – Ho-Chunk Treaty Signed
On this date a a treaty was signed between the Ho-Chunk and the United States that stipulated that the Ho-Chunk cede lands lying to the south and east of the Wisconsin river as well as lands around the Fox river of Green Bay. [Source:Oklahoma State University Library].
In our schools, there Whitewater Middle School PTO meets in the library at 7 p.m.
There are a few municipal, public meetings scheduled for the City of Whitewater today. At noon, the Seniors in the Park Senior Forum meets in the community building at Starin Park. At 4:30 p.m., the Community Development Board of Directors meets. There’s also a meeting of the Business Park Marketing Committee this afternoon. At 6:30 p.m., the Library Board meets.
If you ever dreamed of owning your own dinosaur, now’s your chance. Possibly the most impressive natural history auction ever is set to take place Oct. 3 at the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas.
The main event will be Samson, one of the best T. rex skeletons ever found. But there are around 50 lots for sale, including many impressive, museum-quality rarities, all of which will be on display to the public in the weeks preceding the auction.
“The items we have in this auction are definitely museum standard, or better,” said Tom Lindgren, co-director of natural history for the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields told Wired.com in August. “Most of the museums in the world don’t have anything near what we have in this auction.”
Highlights will include the largest shark jaw ever found, a giant pig skull and a duck-billed dinosaur.
In our schools, there’s a Music Parents meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the high school.
In the post immediately before this one, I linked to Reason‘s Matt Welch’s “Quick Impressions of the D.C. 9/12 Protest.” In that story, he mentions the Newseum in Washington, and the inscription from the First Amendment that covers a large part of the building.
Here are clickable photographs of that impressive inscription:
Today, millions of Americans gathered in Washington, D.C. as protestors against burdensome and overbearing government. They call their protests tea parties, after the Boston Tea Party. They arrived from every part of America, and exercised their constitutional rights of speech and peaceable assembly. They spent their own money for travel, accommodations, and to make their own signs and banners.
Like all peaceful protestors before them, of either the right or the left, they have faced criticism from a small number of Americans who are contemptuous of our tradition of freedom when it does not suit their interests. As with most protests so large, not all of those attending were of a like mind on all issues.
In recent weeks, I’ve met people who have been infuriated at protests like these, decrying some of the rhetoric at the events.
These events certainly aren’t purely libertarian — some of the positions taken aren’t libertarian at all.
America has always been a place of vigorous, and sometimes acerbic, commentary. There were different groups of protestors a few years ago; they’ll be different ones a few years from now. America will go on just fine. Much better for it all, actually.
Far closer to home, in Jefferson, Wisconsin, there was a local tea party protest. I stopped by, took some photographs, and talked with some of the protestors. Many with whom I spoke identified themselves as independents, unaffiliated with either major party.
Some said they had never protested against anything before in their lives. I asked one elderly woman, who told me this was her first protest, how she felt about attending. I teased her, and told her she was a dissenter now, part of a long tradition of protest in America. How’s it feel, I asked? She told me that she was glad she attended, and that she now thinks it’s okay to speak out.
Yes, it is.
Scenes from a Tea Party Protest, Jefferson, Wisconsin:
I don’t believe any country’s flag is more beautiful that America’s. That’s true today, with 50 stars for 50 states, as it was when Wisconsin became America’s 30th state, and during the Revolution, with only 13 states.
Some day, perhaps not long from now, others will petition to be admitted to the Union. I very much hope so; our way of life offers much, for anyone.
I’ve put these three flags up on the left sidebar of my webpage, because I think they’re beautiful in themselves, and even more for what they represent.
There’s a story on the federal lawsuit that Whitewater students have filed at the Janesville Gazette, and sister publication, the Walworth County Gazette.
There’s a story online today from the Daily Union on the federal civil rights lawsuit that black students and their parents have filed against the Whitewater Unified School District and named officials.
I posted last night on the lawsuit – including a copy of the complaint for readers to review – and again this morning regarding allegations in the case.
Every community will have problems, mistakes, and tragedies. Some will be unavoidable, and others preventable.
When an American community faces something terrible, there’s no better response than to embrace what America represents so well and abundantly: accountability, respect for individual rights and liberties, and a willingness to admit mistakes and seek help.
Other choices may seem tempting, as they often have been for Whitewater. Those other choices are foolish and wrong.
America’s way of individual liberty, free commerce, and peaceful and friendly relations with others will always be our best recourse, of which we can be confident and proud.
