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Old 03-03-2021, 05:40 PM   #19
FlyingScot
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Location: Tuftonboro and Sudbury, MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Descant View Post
Newbies and non-residents may not realize it, but we're only about 25 years removed from"traditional" town meetings where you had to be there on the second Tuesday in March and spend 3-4 hours in the gym, in person, to vote. The ambulance, fire dept and police dept all had large volunteer components as did the library and the schools. These volunteers made everything work so that non-residents could enjoy their hunting or ski cabin or their lake camp. Selectmen, county delegation and state reps and senators are all volunteers too. Coaches and team leaders build parks and ball fields so you have parks to play in and swim at or cross-country ski. The volunteer conservation commission buys and protects land so you can hunt or snowmobile. All this and more, and you think you should be able to vote just because you pay taxes? That's B*%%$^!T. C'mon, man.
We raised our kids in a town with Town Meetings, praised endlessly as pure democracy. They actually are less democratic. Families with kids can't send two parents for 3 or so hours 2-3 mights in a row. People who work nights can't vote at all. Meetings were dominated by retirees with nothing to do.
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