A Tosa State of Mind

The Poet's Corner

Posted by Dennis McBride on March 8, 2011

I have not written in this corner in more than a month.  Like most Wisconsinites, I have been engrossed in the budget battles in Madison.  Unlike many bloggers, I haven’t written anything on that subject because I wasn't sure I had anything to add to the swelling chorus of voices in the debate.  I have expressed my views, mostly privately, but as an alderman, I try to stay nonpartisan and confine myself to issues facing Wauwatosa directly.

My relative silence has been guided in part by the advice of my favorite poet, William Butler Yeats, who wrote these words in 1915:  

On Being Asked for a War Poem

I think it better that in times like these
A poet’s mouth be silent, for in truth
We have no gift to set a statesman right;
He has had enough of meddling who can please
A young girl in the indolence of her youth,
Or an old man upon a winter’s night.

But today I can no longer be silent.  Like most Wisconsinites, I have grown weary of the standoff and of the toll it is taking on our ability to interact with each other.  It also is taking a toll on Wisconsin's municipalities, like Wauwatosa, which are gripped with financial insecurity while the budget battles go on.  As an alderman, I am concerned about our City's future and responsible for protecting its ability to pay for and provide services to our residents.

It is time for our “statesmen” (and women) in Madison to finally negotiate with each other and reach a compromise in Wisconsin’s best interests.  It is time for Wisconsin’s Democratic senators to come home.  It is time for our Governor and our Republican senators to give them a reason to come home.  It is time for all of our statesmen and stateswomen to remember that elections are decided, not by Republican or Democratic voters, but by independents.

As a lawyer and elected official, I know there is always room for compromise.  It is time to put the current issues behind us and move forward.  

“Forward” is our state motto – isn’t it?