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“A non-violent revolution is not a program of seizure of power. It is a program of transformation of relationships, ending in a peaceful transfer of power.” – Gandhi
I traveled to my hometown of Sidney, NY, last night. Before the Town Board meeting, a group of us met in a local diner to break bread, and to update one another on new information on the conflict with the local Supervisor, Bob McCarthy. This is the fellow that Keith Olbermann named as the “worst person in the world,” because of McCarthy's vicious attack on a Sufi settlement, including his vow to force the excavation of Muslim graves in Sidney.
During our meal, journalist Andrew Reinbach, of Huffington Post, noted that the events in Sidney are a microcosm of what is happening in towns, cities, and states across the country: Tea Party activists have assumed a degree of political power – including, obviously, by winning a number of elections – and are creating havoc that destabilizes our already hurting society. It is for exactly that reason that I believe what is happening in this isolated town in the rural, upstate Delaware County is of real significance to the rest of our country.
When some Sidney residents contacted me, and provided me with information about the cemetery conflict, and several other serious issues involving their Town Supervisor, I evaluated the situation. Besides McCarthy, there are four members on the board. One is McCarthy's stepson, another is his best friend. These three are members of Tea Party. In talking to a variety of Sidney residents, I learned that the stepson is viewed as his sidekick, a “Festus Haggen,” of sorts; while Bob's best friend is his political guru It was this Tea Party Trio that decided it was their patriotic mission to respond to the planned Islamic community center near Ground Zero by desecrating the Sufi cemetery.
Bob McCarthy presented a perfect adversary – a loud, offensive, bullying nativist, incapable of calling women anything other than “girls,” with a bulbous red nose that documents his reasoning for his on-the-record attacks against the enforcement of DWI laws. He had already told journalists that he did not consider Islam to be a legitimate religion, and claimed the Sufi people had broken the law – although he admitted that he did not know any laws they had broken.
McCarthy's personal style had already created sharp divisions within the employees of the community, before the cemetery conflict. Democratic, republican, and independent citizens have had concerns over his tactics – including not taking bids on public projects, going through three accounting firms, bouncing checks, and failing to file financial documents as required by state law. Hence, while the cemetery issue drew the most media attention, group members were doing extensive investigating of other issues.
Town Board meetings have highlighted the ever increasing strain within the community. It is, as Martin Luther King, Jr., said, important for citizens to invest in bringing about creative tension in such situations. It can be expected, as Thomas Aquinas wrote, that when people such as McCarthy feel threatened, they will automatically react with anger and hostility. When women have confronted McCarthy on his lies, for example, he consistently threatens to have them thrown out of public meetings. When confronted with newspaper articles and television news clips which show that he indeed said the things he now denies, McCarthy lacks the intellectual and moral capacity to admit error.
As a result, not only are some board members finding it impossible to stick up for him any longer, but a growing number of community leaders are rejecting him. Forty area religious leaders signed a letter, asking the board to stop its attack on the Sufi community. The Sidney Chamber of Commerce came out in opposition to McCarthy. The Village of Sidney's mayor has also clearly separated from McCarthy. And even his stepson has reportedly told associates that he is “tired of cleaning up Bob's messes.”
While there are residents prepared to run for office in the next elections, more must be accomplished now. Civic leaders closely associated with the business community contacted me recently to ask what can be done to make the uproar stop? My studies of King's strategies has taught me the value of behind-the-scenes communications. It is in everyone's best interests for Bob McCarthy to resign, to spend more time with his family. He owns a home in Florida, and would surely benefit from spending more time there. They agree, but believe Bob is “too stubborn to do the right thing.”
That, of course, is actually the easy part. The greater difficulty – in Sidney and every other community across the country – is in healing the wounds, rebuilding, and moving forward in the future. In a very real sense, this crisis in Sidney was caused by the prejudice against a tiny minority group that has a different religion. The fears and hatred that the Tea Party trio were channeling are those found at the lowest levels of human nature. The rational thought of the forty area clergy certainly helped in the effort to protect the Sufi cemetery. And more, while I recently thought that my Brother Hans – the spokesman for the Sufi group – should consider running for local office, I now recognize that he is playing a far more important role, as an advocate for community values and harmony among various groups and individuals.
The problems in Sidney, in my current town, and in your town or city, go way beyond a cemetery. People need jobs. Healthcare. Food to eat. Clean water. Warm homes. The opportunity for good educations. And on and on. We must rapidly move beyond the problems caused by the ignorance and sheer stupidity of McCarthyism.
What will make this current uproar stop? Only those close to Bob McCarthy can solve that today, by convincing him to resign. They should talk to Bob and his wife, who reportedly wants this to stop, too. Then the Town Board members will get some breathing room. More, they can expect the support and cooperation of those 120 to 150 citizens who have been attending recent public meetings.
Strong, healthy communities benefit from politicians who have the respect and trust of citizens; from religious leaders who take an active interest in social issues, and enriching the local culture; from parents, children and youth that are invested in the school system and in community events; and from the wisdom of its senior citizens.
Although I no longer live in Sidney, I still have strong connections there. I also know more about the town's history than any person living there now. From this vantage point, I see the citizens' group there as representing not any one political or religious faction, nor social class. Instead, it is the spirit of the town – its people, its land, river, creeks, trees, and rocks, and indeed, its past and present – that is providing the energy to right wrongs, to forgive, to heal, and to move forward into the future as a whole.
That same energy is needed in every location across the country.
Peace & Justice,
H2O Man
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