Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving, Harbor Springs!
There is much to be grateful for today. My intent when I started writing this message was to convey sincere gratitude. I hope that is where it ends up. This is a hard one to write, but I hope it is something that needs to be said.
I have intentionally tried to be relentlessly upbeat in this space. Toward the end of this fall's campaign, the insults and the threats hurled my way got a bit crazy and unnerving. Some signed their names. Others chose to be nameless. I know what I got thrown at me was a fraction of what our city employees and others who serve had to endure. Weeks after getting everything that was asked for, some still openly call the City Manager a "commie." Others can be heard calling hard-working city employees "stupid" during their reports at City council meetings.
This year has been a reminder that we can only control so much. That hard work and kindness can only go so far. Our community, while special, is not immune from the politics of division. I'll be honest, I have lost some faith in my fellow citizens. The threats, the name-calling, the disregard and disrespect that continue to this day at our city meetings is frankly disgraceful. We have to do better.
As the yard signs have come down and the porch canvases have gone up, those of us who live here full-time are once again tasked with writing a zoning code. The job of building community is always worthwhile. We have been provided another opportunity to bring people together. It is important we seize the chance to add more light and less heat. The Planning Commission has taken some great first steps in pursuing that cause.
The effort to restore civility, however, cannot be passive. Those of us who want our community to mend its wounds will need to do everything we can to resist normalizing the behavior of entitlement. Wounds require attention or they fester and never heal. I don't intend to increase conflict. However, the very loud voices calling people names and swinging around their money and influence rely on our good nature to allow incivility to go unchallenged. It is uncomfortable and so they count on us to turn away.
The zoning issue will be resolved. Smart and dedicated neighbors are working on it and they will find a path forward. What is more in doubt is whether we can rebuild our faith in one another and our civic institutions.
And so, it is with that goal in mind that I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for your efforts to claim the civic space for kindness and cooperation. Thank you for your support for this effort, for me personally and for my family. You make Harbor Springs an amazing place to call home. I am grateful for you and our community.
Enjoy your time today. Hold on to those who are close. Reach out to those who are far. Take a few deep breaths and tomorrow we can get back to the hard work of mending the fabric of our community. Forward, Together.