DARIEN, CT — A proposal to make the Pledge of Allegiance a part of the Darien Representative Town Meeting didn’t make it out of the legislative body’s Rules Committee earlier this month, with some members citing concerns about ostracizing those who could be against the idea and the possibility of outside retaliation on RTM members.
The Rules Committee sets the agenda for the full RTM. No vote was taken on the Pledge of Allegiance proposal, and the committee moved on to the next agenda item after a somewhat spirited debate.
RTM Rules Committee member Susan Marks brought forward the idea to say the pledge before each full RTM meeting during the Rules Committee’s regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 12. The meeting was broadcast via Darien TV79 and can be viewed here.
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Marks, a former member of the Board of Selectmen who joined the Rules Committee last November, said the idea has been on her mind for a while, but she was waiting for the right time to bring it up. She noted the United States Congress says the pledge before meetings, and all sessions in the House and Senate in Hartford start with the pledge as well.
Locally, whether it’s a town council or RTM, Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, New Canaan, Westport, Danbury, Waterbury, Simsbury, Waterford and Clinton are a handful of towns that say the pledge before their meeting, Marks said.
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The Darien Board of Selectmen says the pledge before its meetings, too.
“I thought it was something to talk about, because to me, it unifies us as a group… I think we have a lot of controversy in different things, so this is just one thing to start the meeting off in a patriotic way,” Marks said of her proposal, adding it “sets a good tone” before a meeting and pays respect to the flag and the military.
Marks said she spoke with fellow Rules Committee member Jack Davis, who told her the proposal would be “a little controversial.”
“I was dumbfounded that anyone would even question why. I’m not saying we have to do it because so many other towns do it, but it’s just to me a very respectful way to start a meeting,” she added.
Committee member Frank Kemp, a Korean war veteran, said he respected Marks’ points, but felt there were other ways to show patriotism, like running for election, volunteering in public service, or helping others in need. He also said he wanted to protect RTM members who might vote against the idea.
“I don’t believe we need to attest to our patriotism on a routine basis by rote as if we were at a ballgame or kindergarten,” he said.
“I’m looking for a way to protect the people who may vote against this, so they’re not called unpatriotic,” Kemp explained. “This happens in communities where this mob sweeps through, calls for something, and the people who protest it are then attacked, and I don’t want us to set up something like that. I really don’t want to vote on this thing.”
Kemp said he reached out to Town Attorney Wayne Fox to see if a confidential vote could be held, similar to the vote for RTM moderator and the Board of Ethics. He had not heard back, but said Fox indicated that wasn’t possible.
By adding the Pledge of Allegiance to RTM meetings, Peter Orphanos said it “threatens” the non-partisan nature of the legislative body.
“There are frankly going to be people that want this proposal to go through, and people who are not going to want [it] to, and if we have to vote openly, there’s going to be an identity of the two groups,” Orphanos said.
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Davis, who was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with an American flag on it, said the town was in a “no-win situation.”
He pointed to the city of Stamford and the Board of Education’s recent decision to return to class for the Columbus Day and Veterans Day holidays — a move that has garnered national attention.
“I’m worried about possibly putting in harm’s way members of our body, not by people within town, but by the other radical groups that are out there with people’s names and addresses out there, and exposing them,” he said.
Rules Committee Chair and RTM Moderator Seth Morton gave the committee options on how to proceed: no vote, vote to put the proposal on the RTM agenda or vote to have the RTM consider adding the proposal to an agenda.
He also volunteered to lead the RTM in the saying of the pledge, and whoever wanted to join would be welcome. Davis said that would raise some of the members’ concerns that were discussed.
Morton noted he felt the pledge would be “a great way” to start the meeting and have the body be on the same page.
The committee decided to move on to the next agenda item without taking action.
At the end of the meeting, Marks expressed disappointment that her proposal had not gained any traction, but she said she could accept it.
“It’s very sad for me to think that a town like this, that we all see each other in the grocery store, and we’re all trying to do the right thing… it’s a very sad thing for me to think that someone would be concerned about how they vote because of how someone would treat them afterwards,” she said.
The RTM agenda for Feb. 26 does not include an item related to the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s unclear if the proposal will come forward again in the future.
Watch the full Rules Committee on Darien TV 79 here. The discussion on the Pledge of Allegiance begins at the 53:30 mark.
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