In Memoriam:
Remembering a former Warren resident and select board chair (2008 until his death on February 26, 2010), Burt Bauchner :
In Judaism we honor our family members on the anniversary of their death, called Yahrzeit, by lighting a 24-hour memorial candle and saying a prayer, the mourner’s Kaddish. I also like to remember people after death by recalling a characteristic or attribute. Mac and I got to know Burt first when he served on the select board. I in turn got to know his life partner Susan when I was elected JP in Warren. I had the great pleasure of taking Burt out on one of our Icelandic horses around Fuller Hill. We discussed Freud, Narrative Therapy and my studies in social work and remained friends with Burt until his passing. Many of you know Susan who remains an inspiration and amazing force in The Valley.
Some remember Burt as an avid Sugarbush skier and ski instructor. He also had an interest in politics. Recently I was given a document that Burt wrote called an Agenda for American Change in around 2008 when he organized the Mad River Valley Democrats. It’s four sections are eerily relevant today.
- Cease the attacks on government.
- Reduce the role of money in politics, reform politics.
- Term limits and Influence.
- The Commons.
I am particularly struck by his view on government and what he viewed as the attacks on government:
- It is the mechanism we use to create a civil society. Without government there is no order, no private property, and no peaceful social system; life would be brutish and short. Attacks on notion of government over the last 30 years have been dogmatic, selfishly motivated and cynical. Contrary to the current mood, avarice is not a good thing.
- Without a government to set and enforce the ground rules, the notion of peaceable enjoyment of private property that we hold so dear would not exist. In providing the opportunity society has the right and obligation to set limits on the rights of private property.
- Consider notion of custodian or trustee in a long chain, rather than “owner.”
I want to honor Burt’s words and pay heed to his view on government and being governed. Another prayer I recited yesterday is one we say at every Shabbat service. “Blessed art though Lord our God, who frees the bound.” Regardless of your religious or political beliefs, let us not be bound by fear, oppression, and greed. Now is the time to speak up and refuse to be bound. We are “The People” and no one of us has all the answers. Let’s work together to make America kind again, to listen to each other and balance the extremes by remembering the guidelines and values outlined in our Constitution for a just and fair society.
May Burt’s memory be for a blessing.
Bobbi Rood
Waitsfield
