Fort Atkinson’s trying to decide what to do with its city manager, and needless to say, local officials are busy insisting that they didn’t make any mistakes in selecting Evelyn (Evie) Johnson:
She was among 45 candidates who expressed interest in the Fort Atkinson position in 2012. At the time, [Fort Atkinson Council President Davin] Lescohier noted that “Evie made a strong impression with the council, department heads and local dignitaries during her first stay in Fort Atkinson….”
Setting aside the self-exculpatory tone of these explanations, there’s the silly view that, in a small town like Fort Atkinson or Whitewater, there are local dignitaries.
There are no such people – these are just simple towns with residents in conditions of equality with each other. Thankfully, we’ve no class of no aristocrats in Whitewater, and there’s no like group in Fort Atkinson, either.
Those who wish to be treated as though they were monarchs of England, Spain, or Saudi Arabia are free to visit those places, and marry into those families.
They’re equally free to travel abroad, press toward the palace fence, and coo and crawl before those over-dressed, under-thinking clans.
People speak freely – as they should – about (and to) the president and governor. They are not dignitaries to us, but representatives from us.
The same is true locally – residents all, some serving for limited times and capacities as officials, most in private life.
There’s not a dignitary among them.
Ouch! You mean to tell me that members of the University are not to be considered dignitaries? Somebody should tell them so they aren’t injured by their self-inflated egos blowing up.
There’s only one chancellor about whom one should be concerned:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palpatine.