Friday so our spirits are up, right? No routine time in Morris. I was informed just now at Caribou that the city council is indeed following through on a new closed meeting today to handle something quite untidy. I had the thought that, based on the tempest that arose when this matter first broke, i.e. the "fan club" for the library director - bearing signs in fact - maybe our elected people would want to dispose the matter quietly.
Well, "quiet" is pretty important in a small community, right? But no, the meeting this morning is going to happen and I wonder if we'll get the full story. If the whole thing was much ado about nothing, then we need to hold certain people's feet to the fire. We shouldn't have been dragged through this. I mean, "allegations of misconduct." Those are such strong, sharp words.
So are they just "allegations?" Isn't there a basis of fact established by now? The "fan club" aspect of this has bothered me. The individual who appears to be in the hot seat has so many zealous admirers. Should we just get out of their way and let the library director get back in the groove?
There is one side in this matter who would have us think that the city manager is some sort of evil or vindictive person, i.e. shallow. And I am not prepared to believe that at all.
Will all the facts come out? Even if it embarrasses the city? If this is a case of oversell by the city manager, wouldn't the elected council people have come to that conclusion by now? Well, the deliberations are about to happen.
When the library director got the job, wasn't this a typical example of a subordinate getting promoted, maybe not based on the most solid criteria? Promoted mainly because of such a strong following of friends? I don't know, I just know that it's possible. I have certainly seen cliques throw their weight around in Morris before, sometimes to the detriment of the best community interests or even school interests. And "school" involves our young people.
I do not think our teachers should have the power of union. Really I feel that way about all public employees. And I'm not even a Republican.
The way things are going now, maybe all Republicans should wear a sack over their heads. A panic over things like Social Security and Medicare? The Speaker of the House now proposing that we completely eliminate the Federal court system? If the USA collapses with all this neglect, are you really prepared to live with the new reality?
Can't you ask some hard questions of our congressperson? Good luck in even getting her to answer. Is she holding town halls? But this is what most of you wanted: the MAGA reality. You voted for it out here in western Minnesota.
Piling-on
Back on the library matter, a well-known Morris attorney has started waving his flag on a particular side. He talks about a "personality conflict." Oh, so that's all it is, a "personality conflict." And given the very well-known stripes of both he and his spouse, we can deduce immediately that he thinks it's the city manager with a "personality problem."
I hate this piling-on that we have been seeing. Added to the crowds and the signs in support of the individual under scrutiny, we now learn of an apparently prestigious "award" for this person. It's an award connected to our august U of M-Morris, i.e. the DEI capital in our higher education system. And don't think the top honchos in the U of M system - yes the denizens in the Twin Cities - aren't agonizing over how our Morris campus sticks its neck out about DEI.
I could be indifferent about DEI - I really could - if it weren't for the very heavy-handed movement coming down on it from the top of MAGA. Even including an executive order that a Federal judge had to strike down. Remember that top Republicans are now talking about abolishing the whole Federal court system. This has got to be fantasy-level, right? Not so fast: MAGA keeps acquiring momentum because no one ever stops it.
The church pews are filled out here by older people who would vote Trump even if they have to sacrifice their own government benefits like Social Security. When Republicans talk about eliminating so much "waste, fraud and abuse," what it really means is that they'll look for an excuse to challenge people's benefits, to allege fraud where there is most likely none.
All this will pave the way for DJT to pursue his top priority which is bigger tax cuts for billionaires. I don't know why I point this out because I won't persuade anyone. All you churchgoers will stay hypnotized for your man and his people. And I'm not talking about Jesus Christ. "Your man" is DJT.
My Morris attorney acquaintance is trying to write off the whole library matter as one of an administrator with a grudge. He and his spouse cannot deny that this is an accurate representation or translation. And I think this is disrespectful to the city manager who has the pressure-filled job of making sure the city gets maximum bang for the buck of city spending.
I think the library is something where overspending can easily happen. It's so easy for the do-gooders to argue for library spending because the library on the surface represents such virtuous things. However, in the digital age we have so many other resources. Pre-digital, the need for public libraries didn't even need an argument. It was self-evident.
Way back when
I smile as I remember the days of our old Carnegie library with the pillar Ms. Grove in charge, Margaret Grove, who would "shush" you if you spoke aloud. Well, libraries were definitely a necessity then.
Mom would walk me to the old Carnegie libary often. We rented a house in west Morris for a time - I recall it was called the "Gustafson house." The Eystads were next door. Mom would assist me selecting books and when I was real young she read them to me, an example being the biography of Jim Bridger the "mountain man."
Mom insisted that I develop literacy from a very young age. The lessons she imposed on me were difficult at times. So I guess this is how I became a writer. My friend Brent Waddell says I should wear a white suit coat to church because Mark Twain was known to wear white. Good idea, Brent.
The Internet has helped me keep going with my writing. I was exhausted at the end of March Madness because I got so involved writing. And as soon as the dust cleared there, my, we had this whole kerfuffle arise with the library and its director! Again, if this whole flap is over very minor alleged bad judgment, the city should feel regret that it arose. Controversy is always a last resort in a small community. Mobs of people bearing signs is never a good thing.
Is the city manager really the "wicked witch of the west?" Right now I am inclined to say "no." These matters can get oversimplified. I'm still upset that Stone's Throw Restaurant had to close. And I'll bet the city is upset about that too because the city lost some tax base.
I'm sure the city is getting feedback on abandoning the downtown with the liquor store, to go out to the trendy and contemporary "highway strip." But whither downtown Morris? Whither our "entertainment district?" And what if UMM continues to shrink? What if the heavy hand of the Federal government comes down on the U of M because of our embrace of DEI?
Columbia University out east has already felt the wrath of this. Can Morris sustain having UMM fall into really hard times? We may already be there.
= Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com