Letters: Dowdell bullied electorate into accepting his point of view
Letters to the editor
Published: April 30, 2009
Dowdell bullied electorate into accepting his point of view
The story and discussion of Arthur Dowdell’s actions at Pine Hill Cemetery seem to be centering around the display of the Confederate flag on the graves of Civil War veterans. Should they be displayed? Shouldn’t they be displayed, etc? Was Dowdell representing the City of Auburn and the city council? Did he have the right to act in the manner in which he did act?
I think the real story and the discussion that should follow is this: Dowdell presented himself at the cemetery as an elected government official and then proceeded to bully the electorate into accepting his views and beliefs. Dowdell also made a proclamation that the flags will never be displayed again, something that he is unable to deliver.
His actions were clearly an abuse of his position, not to mention an unlawful act by a city councilman. It is the bullying, the abuse of position of an elected government official and his unlawful act that should be at the center of the discussion, not the display of the Confederate flag, people’s view of the flag and the appropriateness, or inappropriateness, of it all.
In Dowdell’s defense, it is very clear the precedent has been set for elected government officials to bully the electorate, to impose their personal views, beliefs and value systems on others, and to promise to ram it down the throats of the citizenry, whether they like it or not.
Just take a good look at the U.S. Congress and what they have done during the past three months and what they are proposing to do during the next three to six months. It appears that Dowdell has paid very close attention and has adopted, as his own, the same attitude and behavior.
Carl Wiggins
Auburn
