Exhibit A: Current Challenges Present Great Opportunity

The difficult times in our lives, the ones that challenge us the most, are, ironically, those times in which we often grow and learn the most about ourselves. Certainly, we would all rather not go through the tragedies and struggles. Life definitely would be easier that way, but then again, it may also be less interesting without the events that add depth and character to our lives and often define who we are. In other words, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

Christine Smith

The same is also true with organizations. The town of Canton is at such a crossroads now. We can determine whether the bad news will divide us and define us as a town or whether it can be used as an opportunity for learning and growth and also as an opportunity to redefine the narrative and showcase all that is good in the town.

In his recent commencement address at Brandeis University, historian Ken Burns pointed out how Americans are often trapped by binary assumptions where everything is either right or wrong, with nothing in between. In particular, he noted that, “Our certainty about everything, our stubborn insistence on our own exceptionalism blinds us to that which needs repair.” (If you have not seen or read the entire speech, I highly recommend you find it online and watch it.)

This is how things are in Canton right now. You’re on one side or the other. Things are good or they are bad. However, the truth is somewhere in the middle. There are many good things in our town government and some things in need of improvement. You can think that Canton is a great town while also acknowledging that there are areas where change is needed. Instead of this being an us-versus-them situation, it presents an opportunity for our leaders to take an introspective look and see where we, as a town, can grow and learn. What is working well? What needs some improvement?

Due to current events, Canton residents are tuning in to our municipal government more than ever. This also presents a unique opportunity to educate residents about how government works, how and why municipal government is different from private enterprise, about why certain votes are being taken and what certain votes mean.

It also presents the opportunity to educate residents about the good things happening within our town’s government. Canton, like many municipalities and many government entities, overall has hardworking, dedicated employees who quietly go to work and keep things running. The administrative staff in the Select Board office, the town clerk’s staff, the accounting and finance folks, and the DPW workers, just to name a few, keep our town running, serve the public, pay the bills, plow the roads and more. While acknowledging that there are some things that need to be fixed, we can also acknowledge that there is also a lot of good work happening.

The town’s volunteer committees are also doing great work, including the successful rollout of the Municipal energy aggregation plan and the selection of a consultant by the Climate Action Plan Committee. The Canton Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee just ran its third annual Pride event this past weekend, and the Walk, Bike & Hike Committee has impressive plans for adding more trails to our community. And if you attended Annual Town Meeting and really paid attention, you know that the Finance Committee put in endless hours reviewing, discussing, and voting on the warrant articles and putting together recommendations to voters so we could all be prepared to vote at town meeting. And this only touches the surface of the good work happening.

Yes, Canton has some issues that need to be addressed. The police audit and bylaw modernization committee are a good start to addressing them. Canton’s leaders should embrace this and use the situation to help the town grow, while at the same time seizing the chance to engage in some public education. To do otherwise would be to squander a great opportunity to help Canton heal.

Christine Smith is a mother of three, an attorney and longtime Canton resident. The views expressed in her column are solely her own.

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Posted by Christine Smith on Jun 7 2024. Filed under Featured Content, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.