Weekend Edition just broadcast a great story on the Fairmont Department
of Peace efforts.  Mary Jane LaVigne, a leader of the Minnesota
campaign who was at the Fairmont council meeting.   She remembers that
meeting vividly, not least because she did get talked into the dog.

It was foggy driving down to Fairmont yesterday. The pavement promised
to turn slick if it slipped a degree or two colder. My daughter and son
used the 2 ½ hour drive to promote family opportunities for puppy
ownership.

The Fairmont City Hall, is a modern municipal building on a downtown
plaza. The 5:30 meeting was in full swing when we arrived at 5:40. The
man at the mic was talking about the Supreme Court, and how the
Department of Peace legislation dismantles it and puts the UN in
charge.

A Fairmont Police Officer gave up his chair so my daughter could sit.
There was no formal process of recognition, whoever popped up first got
the floor. It was orderly. After the first anti-peace speaker dominated
the mic for 15 minutes, most people kept themselves under five minutes.
Most weren’t people who spoke often in a meeting, though some of us
clearly enjoyed hearing ourselves talk.

What are they afraid of? It was a remarkable, open hearted, fair and
safe chance to listen. They are afraid of losing their dignity. They
are afraid of being dominated by evil and of losing their freedom. They
are afraid that their hog operations will come under scrutiny. They are
afraid of losing the right to own guns. One young man stated his
concerns about his high school this way, "In science we’re taught we
come from the apes. How much purpose can you feel if you come from an
ape?" They are afraid military service past or present will no longer
be honored.

Now I can go back and substitute “we:” for “they” and really learn
something.

After several anti-peace speakers stood there was frantic eye contact
all around the peace group. By applause and sight half of the group
were Department of Peace supporters. That’s just not who was standing
up to speak. Here’s when I learned something about us. We don’t like
conflict. It’s hardest of all when it’s our neighbors.

Patty Kuderer, a Fairmont native made a clear, calm presentation
dispelling much misinformation. Judi Poulson, the leader of the
Fairmont DOP effort spoke movingly about the many good work the
Fairmont peace group has done in the four decades they’ve been meeting.
Patty's sister stood as well, her voice authentic and courageous in the
presence of the leaders of her city. I talked about democracy as a form
of non-violent conflict resolution. When I sat down the woman next to
me who had spoken of the dangers of a society in which only criminals
had guns, reached over and poked my knee saying “We don’t have a
democracy. We have a republic. Remember that. I’m a former school
teacher you know.”

Then the woman on my right stood. Her knees and voice were shaking.
She spoke of her childhood in occupied Holland. The terror she still
remembered when the Nazis searched her house and beat her father. “You
don’t know war like this,” she said. "I know war and I still carry it
with me."

Many apologized for “having to be talking about this at a city council
meeting.” But I beg to differ. There was something perfect about that
night, that city, this discussion. Sometimes with just a small thing
you can feel the world pivot a notch. So it was last night in Fairmont,
Minnesota. I can’t say what changed, but something did.

In the end the Fairmont City Council voted 2 to 3 to rescind their
resolution in support of the Department of Peace. And you know, in a
funny way, that was probably o.k.

 

To listen to the NPR Weekend Edition story on the DOP effort in Fairmont, MN Click here