It's a Question of Character

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

I found this quote from Abraham Lincoln while researching something else this afternoon. It struck me as an incredibly simple yet eloquent way of describing what we in the Town of Rochester have been experiencing the past month and a half - not to mention the past 14 months.

It really is a question of character. I can't say with any degree of certainty that those on the Town Board who committed this noxious act against Manuela Mihailescu lack character altogether, but there certainly seems to be a collective flaw in their characters that allowed all of them to believe that they could do what they did to her. Coupled with the fact that they turned their backs on the people of our Town when we called them to task for it, and I would have to say they need to begin re-examining their consciences and figuring out how to fix what went wrong.

As a Christian, I try my best not to hate anyone and I can honestly say that I do not hate the Supervisor or the members of the Board. However, I despise what they did, both to Manuela and to the people of this Town. I am angry, indignant and resolute in my desire to see real change come to the Town of Rochester. I also know that I am far from alone.

The problem is not one of politics, although the supporters of the Town Board would have us all think otherwise. If this were political, why would so many Democrats be as angry about this situation as Republicans or Conservatives? The answer is simple: they recognize that this goes beyond politics. What was done to Manuela and to the people of this Town was not a political move against an electoral opponent. It was a clear cut attack against decency. If I were a Democrat, I would be incensed that the people whom I supported, for whom I campaigned and voted, the people who supposedly represent my values, would do this in my name.

It all comes down to character and when your character allows you to do what we have witnessed, when your character allows you to excuse it and shift the blame on to those you have wronged, serious questions need to be raised about your fitness to govern. If you can do everything which has been done in the past month and a half, you view reality in a way almost no one else in this Town does, political ideologies notwithstanding. Your ability to understand the common principles of decency on which all valid political viewpoints - liberal or conservative - must stand is severely compromised, if not damaged beyond repair.

The fact that one Democratic Town Board member voted to name Manuela to the Historical Preservation Commission and another abstained shows that these questions have been raised in their own minds. Their consciences are likely causing them to doubt the validity of the course of action on which the body they serve has embarked. Gentlemen, it is not too late to do the right thing. Let your consciences guide you, martial your courage and declare to us all that politics is never an acceptable excuse for treating our neighbors with such disdain and disregard. Stand up for someone with whom you disagree.

Show us your character.