Council sees responsibilities beyond town issues

Chapel Hill News; 3/9/03; Marilyn A. Dyer

I am responding to two letters to the editor on Feb. 23 in which the writers expressed disapproval of the Town Council resolution endorsed on Feb. 17. One letter took exception to council member Bill Strom's wanting to send a message " about our values and how we see things."

The other writer said that public officials have the right as individuals to express opposition to a military solution for Iraq, but they have no right " to pretend legitimacy on issues of foreign policy," that " meddling in matters beyond their remit, they have made war more likely."

We can be grateful that our Town Council is made up of broadly informed citizens deeply aware of the complexities of the time in which we live. They know that though we happen to live in a town in the southeastern United States, decisions made by our federal administration with respect to engaging in war will have a direct impact on the welfare of our community.

Thank goodness our Town Council sees its responsibilities as far more than what one of the writers suggested, namely, " to collect garbage and fix potholes."

Information abounds about how our far-from-over action in Afghanistan is daily costing the United States something like a million dollars. The $340 billion budget deficit Bush has just presented does not include the cost of waging war in Iraq, let alone funding that will be needed afterward to " democratize" Iraq. Putting it briefly, the budget reflects the choice between guns and butter, made in favor of guns.

Our Town Council, along with its informed citizenry, is painfully aware of the direct connection between the federal government about to go to war and the drying up of vital funding for states' needs. Rather than fearing that the council is " meddling in matters beyond their remit," we should be glad we live in a community with elected leadership that is able to see the connection between our administration's Iraq policies and needs of our local governments to safeguard the general welfare of our people.

Americans live in a democracy, and it is our duty at every level of government to meddle, to be engaged in looking for the best solutions to difficult issues. All across the country, communities are preparing resolutions urging our national leaders to recognize the impact of an international war on the local community.