To The Editor:

In trying to encourage political participation it has often been said that “democracy is not a spectator sport.” I’ve always been somewhat troubled by that analogy. I’d prefer that people didn’t partake of politics as if it were a sport.

Sure, there are plenty of great aspects to participating in sports and/or being a fan. It can keep us driven and motivated, offer us camaraderie and a sense of belonging, give us joy and pride, entertain us, provide us an outlet, and even an escape. But then there’s the flip side. To win in sports players must aggressively believe in their own superiority and worthiness, and consequently that their opponents are inferior and not worthy of the win.

Now if this opinion were limited only to fair play on the field and in the stands, it would be harmless. However, some players and fans decide that their opponents are actually dastardly and should not be treated with simple human decency. That’s when things get pretty ugly. And if unchecked, that ugliness can spread to ever more players and fans, and even to whole communities.

Why would they decide this? Well, because it can be easier to win that way. Anger and hatred get the adrenaline flowing. And players and fans fueled by it can really be quite intimidating, causing the opposition to crumble, or worse yet, causing the opposition to resort to the same mentality. Quite obviously we can see all of this playing out in our current political predicament. We have too much political participation of that wrong kind. So where should we Newtowners look for respite?

We might start by asking our own Newtown Public School’s coaches. How are they able to lasso the energies and excellence of our youth and still maintain in them such great qualities of good sportsmanship? Besides a few bumps and hiccups Newtown has always been exceptional in this way on the field. This of course is a credit to the kids themselves (and their parents, and other support systems) but it is truly their coaches that piece it all together and keep it part of our Newtown sports culture.

Current trends notwithstanding, Newtown’s political culture is organically much the same. I believe us to be an exceptionally sensible and good-natured lot. It’s one of the reasons our community is so desirable. It’s also why the majority of us are politically unaffiliated. Even those who aren’t, won’t blindly vote the whole party ticket, even though they might say they will to please their “team.”

In closing, I’d like to sincerely thank all of our political candidates for being willing to run and serve in our current political climate, and (for the most part) for being good sports.

Randi Kiely

Newtown