Nightline 3/3: Vermonters, their war dead, and old-time democracy [View All]

[Bozita]

This has potential.


AN OLD-FASHIONED KIND OF DEMOCRACY

March 3, 2005    


For those of us who don't live in Vermont, there's that picture-perfect image that comes to mind. The sweeping, snow-covered hills, pine trees with a fresh sprinkle of powder and a log cabin with a roaring fireplace. You can't get more American than that. But that's just a postcard. There is real pain underneath that veneer. Vermont is losing its young men and women to the war in Iraq like every other state in the nation. The difference is that per capita, they've lost the most. Their National Guard units have been hit very hard and tonight, you'll watch an exercise in democracy as Vermonters decide to try to do something about it.


Democracy is the big buzzword these days. You hear it, read about it, it may even have slipped out of your mouth on occasion. And it's the focus of the Bush administration's foreign policy. Spread democracy around the Middle East and beyond. We've seen shades of it recently in Lebanon, where people took to the streets to bring about change. They brought their own government down. And they're not done yet. They say they'll keep up the protests until Syria pulls its more than 13,000 troops out of Lebanon. And in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, there have been some small but positive steps as well. Not to mention those democratic elections in Palestine, and of course, Iraq and Afghanistan. It's all happening one step at a time and with a grain of salt. But we don't see many examples of direct democracy on our own streets. I'm not talking about the presidential or congressional elections, but about communities sitting down, talking to each other and making decisions about their own futures. Vermont's annual town meetings this week are the perfect example. Citizens hold them across the state to discuss everything from potholes to this year's hottest topic: The war in Iraq and the soldiers they've lost. Correspondent Mike Cerre was at a few of the meetings and came away with a really interesting slice of American democracy at work.

Mike went on to spend a day with the Vermont National Guard as they train and prepare for possible deployment to Iraq. Mike took the discussions from those town meetings and ran them by some of the Guard members. They talked about the role the National Guard has played in Iraq, their state duties that aren't being dealt with and how they carry out those responsibilities with the country involved in a costly war. They had some really interesting thoughts about duty, sacrifice and community.

Then Ted Koppel talks to Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, who is chairman of the National Governors Association, which just met here in Washington to talk about a range of things, including Iraq.

We hope you'll join us.

Gerry Holmes & the Nightline Staff
Senior Producer
ABC News Washington bureau