I’ve met many dogs in the neighborhoods of my town.
I met McKenzie, a border collie who, from two feet away, barked regularly while I sat on a sofa, and who finally allowed me to touch her cold nose. I ran into a lithe, leashed, unnamed German shepherd, who nearly tore its owner’s arm off trying to get a bite of me.
Fufu, I’ll call her, was a tiny bit of a dog, who happily sniffed and wagged as her owner and I talked about “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Buffy, the Siberian Husky who I thankfully remembered from a previous visit, bolted from the front porch, stopped at my feet, and looked up with those incredible Husky eyes.
So many dogs, some with excellent credentials as watchdogs. These are the denizens of town whom you meet when you knock on doors, asking for signatures that allow announced candidates for office to get on the ballot. These are folks who have put themselves out there to serve the public. In spite of what the DC chainsaw is telling us about public service, we need people whose efforts serve a common good.
So if someone knocks on your door, requesting your signature on a petition, sign it. You are part of the civic compact. (And you’d better do it soon, as the deadline is rapidly approaching.)
If someone says our town or our country is going to the dogs, say, That’s a good thing! This is what democracy looks like.
— Tom Denton
New Paltz
