The Virtues of Compromise

One of the last speakers at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 was Benjamin Franklin. He

knew the document before the delegates was imperfect, but he also knew of the importance of compromise in a government administered by citizens, saying “I confess that I do not entirely approve of this Constitution at present, but Sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it: For having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig’d, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. Most Men indeed as well as most Sects in Religion, think themselves in Possession of all Truth, and that wherever others differ from them it is so far Error.”

There is no doubt our founders were brilliant, stitching together an entirely new form of

government notwithstanding their differing versions of the truth. Perhaps this is their greatest

genius, their ability to temper their convictions for the greater good, recognizing that when we

live in a shared society we cannot have it all. We can have some of it, so that others may have some of it, too. What the framers set in motion 250 years ago was the most successful

experiment in self-government in the history of mankind, one that continues to inflame our

passions and test our spirits.

As I’ve written before in this column, we in North Haven have a unique form of direct democracy - we get to vote on our town’s budget. An enormous amount of power is placed in the citizens of North Haven - an up or down vote on how we spend our tax dollars. As many of you reading this column likely know, our referendum failed on May 19 and we will have a second referendum on June 9.

I think we can all agree that no one likes to pay taxes, and I’m certain there are many readers who are choosing between filling up their car and buying groceries this week, and no matter how many times someone tells you how critical municipal taxes are to our day-to-day needs, if you don’t have the money you don’t have the money. I am also certain there are many who are deeply disappointed with the Board of Finance’s cut to the Board of Education budget, thinking it punitive or misguided, and an equal number I imagine still eager for more cuts, looking to shrink our government down to its bare bones. And for those that advocated for cuts to the BOE budget but view the recent 1.7 million reduction as too steep, I wonder what you thought would happen after your yearslong campaign to undermine the BOE’s credibility.

Let me be clear - if this next referendum fails, not only will the BOE have to make further cuts to its budget, hitting classrooms and our kids even harder, but pool and library hours will be drastically cut, the Senior Center and Rec Center will lose funding, those 2 new firefighters will be gone, as will that new police officer and cruisers, and our department of public works will be forced to serve our community with fewer resources and manpower.

So here is what I am asking from all of you - I am asking you to set aside your passions for the greater good. I am asking you to hold two opposing thoughts at once in the ballot box: this is an imperfect budget, and we must pass it.

Compromise is the grease to a well-functioning democracy, without it we risk disorder and

degradation to our community and quality of life. There is great virtue in compromise - far from a personal weakness, it demonstrates a commitment to a shared society where all of us can pursue our own version of happiness with the understanding that such happiness should not come at the expense of another. Passing this imperfect budget is the compromise this community needs to move forward together and begin to tackle the challenges of tomorrow, because we know they’re coming.