Politics & Government

Edelson Discusses Improving Civility in Southbury

In his latest “Selectman’s Message”, Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson, raised his concern with the tone of current conversations in the area.

“I have been concerned for some time about the tone of written and spoken communications in our public conversations,” he said. “I know I am not alone based on my conversations with town leaders and residents.”

Edelson referenced a recent sermon by Reverend Shannon Wall of the South Britain Congregational Church that addressed this concern. In it she wrote:

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“But peace can be waged—and we should be waging it—in our towns as well as our nation. Sometimes I wonder how Jean Dunn and her colleagues at the Voices keep on smiling most of the time. As Assistant Editors of the Voices newspaper, they have to read and edit all those letters to the editor every week. Letters to the editor are the frontline of conflict in our towns. And just look at the tone of many of them! Belligerent, vituperative, accusatory—people who disagree about things that reasonable people can disagree about start out by assuming others’ bad motives, and it goes downhill fast from there. There is plenty of peace to be made here in Southbury, particularly in campaign season.”

“I look to all citizens but especially those in leadership positions to take a visible stand against this type of behavior,” said Edelson. “It is not constructive or productive and all too often we have seen that it has morphed into violent behavior in other communities. Southbury can and we should do better.”

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