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In This Corner - Robert Slager

The most valuable lesson of all

My daughters are at the age when they tend to act silly most of the time. They spent one whole day last week pretending that they didn’t know each other, giggling every time they introduced themselves to each other. They giggled even more when they told one another they aren’t allowed to talk to strangers.

That’s how it should be with 9-year-old girls. They shouldn’t have a care in the world.

But that hasn’t always been the case in my home.

They know their mommy and daddy aren’t wealthy. They know they can’t go on vacation every year. They know sometimes they have to wait for the DVD to come out.
Please don’t misunderstand. My daughters have a good life. They have plenty of clothes and toys. They never go hungry. They are loved as much as any other children in the world.

I’ve tried to explain my job to them. I’ve told them that daddy doesn’t make much money because of the economy but that sometimes there are things that matter more than that.

They'd always shake their heads without truly understanding.

On Saturday night my daughters sat up straight in their chairs for a few minutes. Their eyes were as wide as an open sky. From the podium of the Wareham Lodge of Elks I spoke to them directly. Holding the “2009 Citizen of the Year Award” for them to see, I explained to my daughters the importance of being a good citizen. I told them to always be charitable to others. Then I reminded them once again that making money isn’t the most important thing in the world.

I think they finally understand.

I knew when the Wareham Observer was launched in 2006 it would have a profound effect on my family life. After having spent more than a year as editor of the Wareham Bulletin I learned first hand how bitter and nasty the power elite can be. They feel as though they have a divine right to call all the shots in town, and they don't particularly care for anyone explaining why they do not.

I have always accepted the fact that I would become the target of vicious personal attacks from these people. That’s their weapon of choice. They are afraid to debate actual issues because they know they stand on shaky ground. So instead they launch personal attacks, supported with distortions and outright lies. That’s all they know how to do. It’s in their nature.

But I never imagined these people would cross the line they way they have. They haven’t just attacked me in their endless quest to silence the voices of opposition. They have repeatedly attacked my family as well.

They went after my family when they left two headless dolls in from of the old Bulletin office on Sandwich Road. They went after my family when they put MapQuest directions to my home on a local hate web site. They went after my family when one of them authored an anonymous hate-filled diatribe about me in post underneath a story in my local newspaper about my about daughters’ dance school in Halifax. They went after my family when they said my 9-year-old daughters were fair game because I write about them sometimes. They went after my family when they labeled me a sexual predator because I have a Facebook page. They went after my family when they called my darling wife, a Brownie troop leader and former CCD teacher, a whore.

I know that I am outspoken and sometimes harsh with people who put their own self-interest ahead of the best interest of Wareham. That’s because I care so deeply for this community. I have seen its potential and I’ve seen how hard volunteers work in order to help the community reach that goal. I have also seen how devious the special interest groups in Wareham can be. I have seen how they can buy the media. I have seen the way they try to intimidate or coerce people who speak out against them. I have seen the lengths these people will go to cover up the sins of their past.

I remain deeply humbled that the Elks of Wareham choose me as the 2009 Citizen of the Year. They had to know their would be some backlash by the Take Back Wareham crowd. It took less than 12 hours before the haters in Wareham viciously attacked the Elks for their decision. Even the most respected civic organization in Wareham is not immune from the poison of the power elite.

Over the past few years many people have asked me why I put myself and my family through all this. The reason has always been simple. I want my daughters to understand that they should never stop fighting for a noble cause until the fight is through. I want them to understand that courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the willingness to fight even when you are afraid. It's about believing that some things are worth fighting for no matter what.

I think my daughters understand that now. And there is nothing the haters in Wareham can ever do to take that away from them.

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In This Corner - Robert Slager - 7 opinions posted