Feb 24, 2019 2 min read

The front page of this newspaper said it all. Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, Presidents Day, was a great day for Washington. Two of the most controversial issues of our times were being discussed by citizens, local political leaders, formidable out-of-town speakers and the entire Washington & Jefferson College community. Meaningful political discourse was on full display.

At the Center on Strawberry, one of Washington’s newest venues, a standing-room-only crowd showed up to discuss the legalization of recreational marijuana. Recently elected, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman led the program designed to enlist the views of local citizens on this important topic. His goal was to listen, not to pontificate.

Across town, W&J dedicated the entire day to a series of speakers and small breakout groups to the second annual Symposium on Democracy. This year’s topic was Courageous Conversations: Civil Discourse in Divisive times. The morning Keynote speaker, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (the eldest child of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy) set the tone for the day with a lively talk on courage in the face of intolerance.

The lunch speaker, Kerwin Swint, who has written extensively on the topic of contentious political elections in American politics, titled his presentation, “Surviving the Era of Gotcha Politics, The Past and Future of Civil Discourse in America.” To cap off the affair, the evening speaker was artist, Robert Sheterly, famous for his series of portraits entitled, “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” His beautiful portraits were strategically place around campus for those attending the Symposium to enjoy.

I was impressed with the fact that all presenters permitted question and answer sessions following their talks. My only criticism of both events is that they were not more widely publicized to give more concerned citizens the opportunity to participate. Many residents had the day off and could have benefitted from two shining examples of town hall democracy in action.

Gary Stout

Washington