Natchez and Adams County could learn an important lesson on civility from, of all places, Washington, D.C., or more precisely a single person who works there.

Rarely, these days, can you see positivity coming from Washington. The nation’s capital for many years has been driven by political rancor and infighting.

Like the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud, Democrats and Republicans squabble, fuss and fight to the point of government gridlock, government shutdowns and a constant state of quagmire.

Our community has seemed more like Washington than the area we love over the last week.

All of the squabbling swirls around actions of the Natchez-Adams School Board.

The school board insists moving forward with a building project despite a public outcry at the polls in May to the contrary.

The differences between the Natchez-Adams Hatfields and Taxpayer McCoys boiled over at a recent school board meeting.

Our community’s ugly side was quickly exposed. People turned to the emotionally explosive accusations of racism — when none appeared evident — and threatened violence — which was utterly uncalled for and illegal.

In a matter of minutes, our community became unhinged. More rhetoric, more choosing of sides and more of the language that divides rather than unites followed.

A week later, we are no closer to resolving the matter. Picketers protested the last school board meeting.

One person was arrested for allegedly threatening a school board member.

On the other side of the argument, the person who believes he is capable of seeing in the hearts of more than 3,000 citizens and knows their motivations, continued to fan the flames of division.

The near riot at a school board meeting was bad, but what’s worse is that we as a community seem incapable of moving past that and finding common ground.

The U.S. Senate has been embroiled in a similar situation. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, stood up to the Senate’s pettiness last week when he addressed the Senate.

“Both sides have let this happen. Let’s leave the history of who shot first to the historians. I suspect they’ll find we all conspired in our decline — either by deliberate actions or neglect. We’ve all played some role in it.”

The same could be said for the state of our collective hearts on the school issues.

McCain continued:

“Sometimes, I’ve let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes, I made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh I said to a colleague.

“Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order. We’ve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle.”

McCain’s plea for the Senate to set aside differences and work together strikes a familiar chord here in Natchez too. But rather than being divided by political party, we are still divided by race, class and social status.

When disaster strikes, our community has the ability to set aside our differences and work together. We’ve done that very thing over and over again. Each time we see it, our hearts are warmed.

But for some reason, particularly at the intersection of education and taxes, elements in our community seem incapable or unwilling to find common ground.

Instead our community sometimes chooses to provide awful examples for the children who are supposed to look up to us, by yelling, screaming, cursing, name-calling and threatening to use violence.

Any good 5-year-old can do that, but learning how to work through problems with civility is difficult, but that’s what our community desperately needs to avoid ripping itself apart further.
Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.